The Amount Does Matter

Luke 21:4

For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

We have two groups of people: the rich men and the widow. The rich men gave a large gift into the treasury of the temple, whereas this widow only cast in two mites. In comparison, the rich men gave much more than this widow, but in God's eyes, the widow gave more than the rich men. In today's world, these two mites would be equal to $.91. It would seem that this widow woman had not given that much compared to the rich men, but in reality, she had given more. She had given all that she had, which was only $.91 in today's living. These rich men may have given their hundreds or even thousands into the treasury, but what they gave was a gift and not their all. This widow had given more because she gave her all, and it was her all that brought God's attention to her.

It does matter how much you give. It is not how much you give numerically, but how much you give of what you have. We often look at the amount that someone gives in a numerical sense, but God looks at how much someone gives compared to what they truly have. In other words, someone else may have given more than you, but you may have given more than they did, because what you gave was your all. Let me share several thoughts from this passage that every believer needs to learn.

First, God does expect you to give something. God expects you to give financially, and He also expects you to give of yourself. Nobody will ever please God who is not willing to give financially and of themselves. You show me how much someone gives financially and of themselves, and I will show you how much God has of their heart.

Second, God does not compare your giving to another's giving, but He compares your giving to your ability. This ought to bring encouragement to every believer. Just because someone gives more than I do does not mean that God is not pleased with what I give. What I give, even if it is less in time or value, could actually be more than those who give more in time and value, because it is compared to what I can do. For instance, a sick person may only be able to give one hour of their time to serve God, whereas a healthy person could easily give much more than one hour. Now, let's say that both give one hour of their time to God; the sick person would have given more because that was all that they could give. You must understand that God is looking at your ability to give more than He is looking at the amount that you give. Your ability to give of your time, finances, and effort is to what God measures your giving. God compares you to you and your ability to what you are giving to determine the amount that you have given.

Third, God does want your all. God wants you to be willing to give your all more than actually giving your all. God is not saying that He wants you to take every penny out of your bank account and give it to Him, but He is saying that He wants you to be willing to give every penny of your bank account to Him if He asks this of you. This could be said about your time and effort as well; if you are not willing to give your all to God, then God does not have your heart. Simply put, God wants your best, and whatever your best is, He will be pleased with it. So, at the end of the day, if you have given your best to God, you can rest your head at night, knowing that you gave what you could to God.