1 Kings 8-9, Luke 21:1-19 • Key Verses: Luke 21:1 – 4
It would seem that the more a person makes, the easier it would be to give. But that is not the
case. Possessions have a way of possessing. A wealthy person may give a larger dollar amount
but a proportionately smaller amount than a poor person.
God looks at the proportion, not the amount. It is within the grasp of every person to please God
with his giving because He weighs the gift not in dollars but in sacrifice.
Jesus saw among those bringing their gifts to the temple a widow. Her offering was “two very
small copper coins” (v. 2), worth very little. Yet she is the one He commended. She did not give
a pittance out of her excess but gave excess out of her pittance.
Jesus is interested in the heart that gives, not the hands that have. He did not commend the rich
for the size of their gifts but the widow for the size of her sacrifice.
With prosperity comes a peril. A person no longer has things, but things have a person.
Do a heart exam on yourself. Is it a heart that Jesus would commend or condemn?

Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in