“STEWARDSHIP . . .

REFLECTIONS ON THE WIDOW’S MITE"

– Gray Temple, Jr.

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     We don’t understand wealth. On the one hand, we think wealth is accumulated properties and wads of money.  On the other hand, we think wealth is freedom from anxiety.  Put those thoughts together. Do they fit? This widow understood wealth.  Wealth may include freedom from anxiety, but not as a result of amassing goods.  It results from being able to give. Wealth is the capacity to make a gift. When you can give, you are wealthy.  When you cannot give - or do not - you are poor.

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      That understanding of wealth and poverty can make our lives measurably less anxious. God wishes us to be anxiety free.  For that reason, the Bible commands us to form the habit of giving.  We are enjoined to give to God in the form of tithes (Deut. 12:11). God wants us to give to our families in the form of encouraging instruction (Eph. 6:4), and the careful stewardship of their inheritance (Num. 34:4).

       God wants us to give to the neighbors in the form of truthful dealings (Jer. 5:1) and interest free loans (Deut. 23:19-20, Luke 6:35).  We are to provide for the poor in alms, in leaving leftovers in our fields (Lev. 19:9-10), and in establishing justice (Ex. 23:2-6).  All of that makes us wealthy.