Greed and Giving

There is a television show called, American Greed, and, although I have never watched this series, the show's subtitle: Some People Will Do Anything For Money, pretty much explains enough to keep me from desiring to view any of the episodes.  I struggle to a great degree in my own life to sift through whether I really need certain things as opposed to simply want them; in short, I have a tendency toward greed, an inclination toward accumulation that, at the end of the day, actually serves to distract me rather than aid me in living a focused, Christ-honoring life.  Why would I want to watch other people doing crazy things for money (which is really amassed for one reason: to acquire more possessions) when I, too, can easily justify expenditures for more material things that aren't really needed?

Jesus spoke more about greed than any other sin.  He knew that where our treasure is, our heart would be there too (see Matt. 6:21).  We are bombarded on a daily basis with a large number of advertisements communicating that our lives will be less than fulfilled if we don't purchase certain products.  One of the ongoing challenges in our lives is to discern how to properly steward the money and material possessions God has placed under our care.  Certain material things are obviously needed for life, and God even allows us to have things for our enjoyment.  The problem is when the desire for things begins to overrule our desire for God.  

Peter Kreeft, in his book, Back to Virtue, writes:

Avarice (greed) is not desire as such, or even desire for temporal possessions as such, but the immoderate desire for them; for it is natural to man to desire external things as means, but avarice makes them into ends, into gods.  And when a creature is made into a god, it becomes a devil.

Just a few days before Jesus was crucified, he spoke out against the greed of the teachers of the law, a prominent group of religious leaders who, instead of making sure the needs of the poor widows were properly addressed, viewed the oppressed and marginalized widows' plights as opportunities for financial gain:

Jesus said to his disciples, "Beware of the teachers of the law.  They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.  They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.  These men will be punished most severely." (Lk. 20:45-47) 
  

Greed had infiltrated the hearts of those who were supposed to be upholding the Law and protecting the widows!  Biblical scholars speculate that the religious leaders may have taken advantage of the widows by: taking pay from the widows in exchange for legal aid; cheating gullible widows out of their inheritance; living off the hospitality of lonely women; and, accepting money from naive elderly women in exchange for special prayer.  The immoderate and extraordinary desire for financial gain in the hearts of religious teachers took precedence over their desire to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.  

Interestingly, in a powerful turn of events, Luke records a story of a widow's generous giving as a contrast to the religious leaders' greed:

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.  He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.  "Truly I tell you," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others.   All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."  (Lk. 21:1-4)

The widow in this passage demonstrates a radical generosity, the antidote to a greedy heart.  

We can learn a lot about giving by looking at this poor, oppressed woman.

Here are a few thoughts:

1) The widow's motivation for giving was love.  Remember, the religious establishment had let her down.  Instead of being cared for as the Law required, she was taken advantage of and robbed.  Most people who had endured this kind of treatment would think of countless reasonsnot to give!  Yet, this woman approached the temple treasury with a humble, thankful, generous heart that simply wanted to honor God.  She wanted to love the Lord her God with all her heart, soul, and strength!  What is your motivation for giving?    

2) The widow's gift was based on sacrifice, not size.  The two copper coins that the widow put in the treasury were called lepta, a word that literally means peeled or fine and aptly describes the extremely thin nature of the coins.  Compared to the large gifts of the rich, this two-coin offering represented basically nothing because one lepton was worth about 1/400th of a shekel.  Two lepta is the equivalent of about 1/4 of a cent.  Jesus said the widow had put in more than all the others because she gave out of her poverty and there was a deep cost involved for her.  

C.S. Lewis wrote, "If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small.  There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our charitable expenditure excludes them."  Sacrificial giving is marked by a generous spirit that is willing to delay or even eradicate certain worldly pleasures so more can be contributed to Kingdom ministry.  When is the last time you delayed a purchase for yourself so you could offer that amount of money to God? 

3) The widow's gift demonstrated radical trust in God's provision.  Jesus said the rich people gave their gifts "out of their wealth."  Literally, Jesus says, they gave out of their excess.  Their offering came out of the leftover pile;  they brought a doggy bag to worship.  However, the widow gave "out of her poverty and put in all she had to live on."  Literally, Jesus says, she gave "all the life (bios= subsistence) that she had."  When she finished walking past the temple treasury, she literally had nothing.  She was demonstrating radical trust.  She could have only given one coin (something I would have been greatly tempted to do!), but she gave all and based her life on the provision promises of God.  Are you demonstrating trust in God's provision with your giving?

As we seek to live generously in a culture of greed, let's remember the generous nature of God toward us...and remember a first-century widow who was captivated by the generosity of God as well!