Have you ever given or sacrificed when there was nothing you could give or sacrifice?
And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. (Mark 12:43 ESV)
Sometimes you have to give when you have nothing to give in order to impact the world around you. Have you asked yourself why you haven’t done anything to impact the people around you lately? When you do ask yourself that question, as I have asked myself that question, we come to the conclusion that we have done nothing because we’re in this poverty mindset. That is to say that we have an attitude and perspective shaded by lack and scarcity. When our minds and attitudes are shaded this way then we cannot expect to live the fulfilling lives we dream of.
The context in which Jesus is makes the statement about the generosity of the widow is this: the widow puts in the equivalent of a penny into the offering box. The widow should have had a mindset and attitude of scarcity and poverty. But instead of looking at her circumstances and allowing that to define the impact she could make, she gave with the mindset of who she was created to be. This incredible juxtaposition of thought and attitude impacted the way the widow lived her life.
When we give of ourselves to causes and to people from the poverty of not only our money, but also our time, then we will have done more than we realize we were capable of doing. We would be responsible for impacting more than we could imagine. Lets give out of our poverty and see where our generosity takes us.
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