21 While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.
3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Luke 21:1-4
Dear God, you know that I’ve talked about this passage a lot in the past. Both privately and publicly through sermons and Sunday school lessons, I’ve used this woman as an example of someone who faithfully worshipped you through her selfless sacrifice and was seemingly never materially rewarded for it this side of death. But her reward was surely to be with you for eternity and to be namelessly remembered through the rest of history.
If I’m honest, I can look at my life and see that I still have some pretty good guardrails around how much of my personal comfort I sacrifice for the sake of others. Do I give? Yes. Do I try to give generously? Yes. Do I volunteer time to serve others? Yes. But there are limits. I give in a planned way. Even the spontaneous giving for tragedies like the floods that impacted our area this last summer was done within the parameters of what my wife and I had set aside for such an emergency. I made sure all of my own needs and even my wants were covered first. I wasn’t giving my mortgage money or my food money.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m being too hard on myself. Maybe it’s okay to plan just so long as I am remembering that giving is part of the equation. And my wife and I certainly do give. And we volunteer. So we aren’t lost causes in this area. I suppose it’s just that this widow’s story is a challenge to me that, when I think I’ve given enough and I can stop now, I need to challenge that idea. When I start to get prideful in my nobility, I am humbled by the mere knowledge of her existence in the past and how Jesus loved and appreciated her.
Father, I’m just a nobody, but that’s okay. I’m just a guy that might never get noticed by anyone else, but you notice. Okay. That’s not true. A lot of people in our small town notice me and the work that I do. And sometimes I get prideful in that. I guess what I want to do in your sight is the stuff that no one else sees. I want to work, live, love, volunteer, and give as unto you and not as unto them. I want to worship you in my words, thoughts, and deeds. I want to not miss the opportunities to love that I know I miss every day. I want to give my utmost for your highest. Holy Spirit, help me to be that man today.
I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 
cwpayton
November 24, 2025 at 7:20 pm
In James it says that teachers will be held to higher, stricter standards. Perhaps givers are held to higher, stricter standards as well. My wife and I give and volunteer and yet it never feels like enough. I taught Sunday School yesterday which is unusual for me, and wondered the same thing in looking at Philippians 4:17-19 as I stare out at all of the needs this world has – locally, nationally, but even more worldwide. I know the reality is that I am rich compared to many. One of my conclusions was that even in my giving I think I thought it was I that was doing something rather than Him. And maybe part of not giving is letting Him be in control and for a giver, this is a big step.
I don’t think Jesus in this example was saying the rich need to give everything. I think he was showing that the poor woman made a sacrifice but the rich person did not. I think for me to give everything would be foolish based upon what He has given me to this point. But to only give the excess is not right, the giving still needs to be a sacrifice and not simply what I can afford to do.