The Stories of Christmas | True Generosity

Looking up, Jesus saw rich people throwing their gifts into the collection box for the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow throw in two small copper coins worth a penny. He said, "I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than them all. All of them are giving out of their spare change. But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had to live on."

Luke 21:1-4 (CEB)

The temple treasury was located in the Court of Women, where worshipers could bring their offerings. There were thirteen trumpet-shaped collection boxes for different purposes. People would come and publicly drop in their donations.

The rich people Jesus mentions would have been making a big show of their giving. Large amounts of money, announced loudly, drawing attention to their generosity. It was impressive. It looked sacrificial. But Jesus saw right through it.

Then this widow comes. She drops in two small copper coins…the smallest denomination in circulation. Together they were worth about a penny. It was nothing compared to what the wealthy gave. Barely enough to be noticed.

But Jesus notices. And he says something shocking: She gave more than all of them.

But, at first glance, Jesus' statement doesn't make sense. Two pennies is more than thousands of dollars? That math just doesn’t add up. 

But Jesus isn't doing financial math. He's doing sacrifice math. And in sacrifice math, the question isn't "How much did you give?" The question is "How much did it cost you?"

The wealthy gave large amounts, but they gave out of their excess. After they gave, they still had plenty left over. Their giving didn't require any trust. It didn't demand any sacrifice. It didn't change their lives in any way.

But this widow? She gave everything. The two coins she put in were literally all the money she had. She had no backup plan. No savings account. No safety net. She gave everything she had to live on and trusted God with the outcome.

That's radical. That's risky. That's real generosity.

And it reveals what the widow really believed about God. She could have kept one coin and given the other. She could have held something back, just in case. But she didn't.

Her giving said, "I trust God more than I trust money. I trust God's provision more than my own resources. I trust that God will take care of me even when I give away everything."

True generosity requires some sacrifice. When you sacrifice, that's when you know it's real. Because when giving costs us nothing, it requires no faith. When we only give what's left over, what's convenient, what we won't miss...that's not really generosity. That's just clearing out the spare change.

But when giving requires us to trust God...when it demands that we loosen our grip on security...when it pushes us to depend on God instead of ourselves...that's when generosity becomes transformative. Not just for the person receiving, but for us.

So the widow's story isn't just about money. It's about trust. It's about what we believe about God and what we believe about ourselves. Do we really believe God will provide? Or do we just say that while holding tightly to our own resources? Do we really trust God's care? Or do we trust our bank accounts more? Do we really believe life isn't about what we accumulate? Or are we still finding our security in our stuff?

The widow answered those questions with her two coins. And Jesus invites us to answer them too.

Not necessarily by giving away everything we own. But by being willing to give sacrificially. By loosening our grip on our resources. By trusting God enough to be generous even when it costs us something.

Prayer

God, the widow's trust is challenging to me. She gave everything, trusting you to provide. And I'll be honest—that scares me. I like having a backup plan. I like knowing I have enough. I like the security my resources give me. But you're inviting me to trust you more than I trust my bank account. Help me to loosen my grip. Give me the courage to be generous even when it requires sacrifice. Teach me that real giving always costs something, and that's exactly what makes it real. Amen.