As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

I spent some time with a dear friend of mine and his wife this past week. He is a Cambodian pastor. Forty years ago or so, Paul was a sponsored refugee & a Cambodian minister who stayed with my family. We are now brothers. As I read the above passage, the attitude of this poor widow reminded me of the attitude of many of the poor refugee families my family worked with at the San Jose Rescue Mission.

These families were overly generous. We would go to their houses and have lunch and they would have mountains of egg rolls and fried rice. They sometimes lived with four families in a house and took the only jobs available to non-English speakers: janitors, donut shop bakers, drivers, etc. They were poor but they were thankful, happy, and generous. They were also not satisfied, but kept working very hard.

Forty years later, I visit and, though now highly successful and no longer poor, they are still thankful and gracious. What an example!

Am I willing to become poor in following Jesus and giving where his heart desires me to give? Will I follow Jesus into areas that expose the poorness of my heart?

There is an application here as well for other parts of life. When we give when we feel depleted, worn down, backstabbed and emotionally or spiritually spent — and we give out of our poorness but out of God’s riches — we model sacrificial giving!

Lord, teach me to give out of my poorness and your abundance! You own the cattle on a thousand hills. Storehouses of blessings are in your hand, ready for us to distribute!