How much money is enough when you give to charity?
When considering gifts to God, that is a difficult question to answer. This is because God’s economy functions differently than ours. This is aptly illustrated in the following story:
Jesus notices the rich people giving gifts to the temple treasury. Apparently, they would make a big show of this, to call attention to themselves and their “generosity.” (Think of dropping 100 pennies into the Salvation Army kettle at Christmas time, versus slipping in a dollar bill.)
After their loud and showy performance, a poor widow shuffles up and meekly drops in two pennies. We might wonder what two cents could do, but Jesus remarks that she was the most generous all, giving all that she had.
It seems that God is more concerned with our attitude about giving then he is with the amount that we give. That’s how things work in God’s economy.
[See Luke 21:1-4.]
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.
