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The Widow’s Mite: A Lesson On Religious Abuse - Religion - Nairaland

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The Widow’s Mite: A Lesson On Religious Abuse by Nobody: 11:56pm On Feb 09, 2013
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Anyone who has spent any amount of time in any Christian church is familiar with the story of Jesus’ commenting on a poor widow giving her last mite to the treasury of the Jewish temple. Throughout the years of my attending church services, this story has always been one of the ways religious leaders have tried to prompt or guilt people into giving as much as they can to the church. When I came to the realization several years ago that Christians are no longer obligated to follow any religious law about tithing and I had to rethink my views on giving to the church, this is one story that presented a problem for me. Expressing my views to other believers about tithing always brought up a discussion about the widow giving her last mite and how Jesus commended her for it.

Those who had been teaching me for years about giving to the church, would always tell me that the tithe was really a minimum amount and since Christians were under a new covenant, we should be willing and ready to give even more if called upon to do so. According to what I was taught, this was the true moral of the widow’s mite story. Since I didn’t see any other way to interpret this scripture, it seemed somewhat contradictory to me that Jesus would commend this behavior in one instance while he condemned this type of behavior in other instances. For example, why would Christ rebuke the scribes and Pharisees for teaching that giving to the temple was more important than financially supporting elderly parents (see Mark 7:9-13), then turn around and commend the widow for giving away her whole savings to the temple?

Time and time again I was told that she had enough faith in God to supply all of her needs, even if she gave everything to the temple. But if this were the case, why did Jesus rebuke Satan when Satan tempted him to throw himself off the top of the temple? When Satan told Jesus that if he threw himself over the edge, God would rescue him, Jesus responded with “It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” While Satan thought he could get to Jesus by making Jesus question his faith in God, it turned out to be a matter of Satan twisting God’s word to try to manipulate Christ into doing what Satan wanted. If Jesus told Satan we should not tempt God by ignorantly placing ourselves in a dangerous position that is not commanded by God, why would he commend the widow for putting herself in harm’s way by giving her very last mite away when she needed it for her very survival? And wasn’t it Jesus who said that God desires mercy over sacrifice? A poor widow giving away all her money didn’t seem to fit in with that doctrine.

Years and years I wrestled with these questions until I heard a sermon from John MacArthur that aired several months ago. The answer was in front of me the whole time, but I overlooked it because I didn’t allow myself to see past what I was always taught. John MacArthur highlighted the context in which Jesus observed the widow, which I neglected to do. If I had done so earlier, I would’ve had my answer sooner. When I finally saw what was revealed, I had to smack myself on the forehead for having missed it for all those years. The story of the widow’s mite appears in two of the four gospels–Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4. Here is how the story occurred in both scriptures:

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Mark 12:41-44

And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. Luke 21:1-4

At first glance, he seems to say that her concern for the things of God and her faith was greater than what the rich men had. But just before these verses, Jesus paints us a picture of what was accepted in his day that he found to be unacceptable and here it is–

And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation. Mark 12:38-40

Jesus made this statement as a precursor to what was going on in the temple treasury. He was upset that the religious leaders were taking advantage of widows by extorting from them. By definition, extortion is not only forcibly taking something from someone for personal gain, it is also getting something from someone for personal gain using ingenuity or compelling argument. Jewish leaders had for years been taking advantage of widows–taking their material possessions with the argument that if widows wouldn’t give up the goods, they were in violation of Mosaic law. They were telling them lies under the guise of religion for their own personal gain. It is at this point that we are presented with a real life example of what Jesus was upset about. He points out to us how a poor widow, caught in the false teachings of an abusive religious system, was made to feel as if it was necessary for her to give her whole living to the temple treasury.

Instead of commending what was happening, Jesus was warning his disciples that this is how greed can be dressed up to look like good religion, when it, in fact, is false and abusive. The Jews were so caught up in having a building for worship, they forgot about the things that truly matter like making sure one’s heart is right with God. And because their focus was on maintaining a building, they established man-made doctrines to ensure that a building would always be around–even if it meant taking advantage of people. However, Jesus’ focus was on the weightier matters of man’s spiritual state. He even pointed out in the following verses how God was bringing to a halt the importance of a physical place of worship. As they were leaving the temple the disciples commented on how beautiful the temple complex was. Jesus’ response was that the day was approaching when every stone in the temple complex would be thrown down so that the temple complex would cease to exist.

The organized Christian church has fallen into the same rut as the Jews of Jesus’ day. Our religious leaders have used their compelling religious arguments to extort money from us, even in some cases to the point of us neglecting to pay our monthly bills for our necessities, so we can prop up what they have determined for themselves to be God’s calling for their ministry. I am not against churches having their own buildings for worship or against expanding necessary ministries and I am not saying Jesus was against it. I am saying that in many cases Christian leaders want a pretty building or to establish a new program so badly that they will twist the scriptures to guilt people into giving. If a church needs a building or needs to expand a ministry, my opinion is that they should go about it the correct way by being honest with people and by using church funds with godly wisdom so as not to enter into any agreement with any secular organization (including a bank) that would put them in a compromising position.

So the next time someone tries to compel you to give by throwing the story of the widow’s mite in your face, please keep in mind the true moral of the story is that Jesus doesn’t want anyone to take advantage of us.


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