Luke 21: Generosity vs Control

Generosity is natural from a place of excess.

Bill Gates is estimated to have donated nearly $50 Billion to charities. That’s a tremendous sum. Even so, his net worth reamians nearly $100 Billion.

Understand though, this phenomenon is not limited to the super wealthy, but a condition we all face. For we are far more generous with our money, energy, and time when we find ourselves in abundance.

Taking stock, I recognize that I move across the generosity scale based on how I currently assess my situation. For I’m a budget guy, and I like to project out expenses and how / when to best absorb them. I attempt to do the same with my time. Endeavoring to to act deliberately with my thoughts and actions to ensure I am making progress in the directions I have templated. Ever the contrarian however, Jesus provided this insight one day in the Temple:

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.”
— Luke 21: 1-4

I felt newly challenged with this verse. For if bisection occurs at the line between giving from wealth or poverty; I’m on team wealth. And that’s a challenging realization because I want to live in obedience.

At the same time, the passage is encouraging because we are told the sum total we make or give is irrelevant. It is instead the posture we assume while giving that makes the difference. The question ultimately begged, “is this out of comfort or faith?”

For when one breaks down generosity, control is revealed as the base adversary. When I give of myself from excess, I remain in control, but when I stretch myself out of faith, I am forced to relinquish control. Forced to trust that God’s will for my time, energy, and finances surpasses my own. For me at least, that is easier said than done.