Quantity or Quality

     Zephyr United Methodist Church

Early First United Methodist Church

November 6, 2005

Rev. Eddie Smart

     Mark 12:38-44

           As he taught, he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! ⁴⁰ They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

           ^{Mk 12:41} The Widow's Offering

           He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. ⁴³ Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. ⁴⁴ For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

      When I worked in sales and marketing for the Guiberson Div of Dresser Industries, I ate out at noon quiet often. Many times I ate with fellow employees and customers. I discovered that the eating preferences for many of these people fell into one of two categories -- Quantity or Quality In a way this text from Mark is about quantity vs. quality

      Today's text comes in two parts. It is possible to take either of these parts and preach a sermon. Both stand alone -- each with its distinct message BUT Mark chose to place the story of the widows mite next to the story of the prideful scribes. Why do they appear next to each other?

      They offer a contrast. They offer two distinctively different ways to live. There is the contrast between the widow and the wealthy. BUT there is also the contrast between the widow and the scribes.

      A Jewish Rabbi and a New England minister were getting to know one another. Proudly, the minister exclaimed, "One of my ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence." "I understand your pride," responded the rabbi. "One of my ancestors signed the Ten Commandments."

      There is pride and then there is PRIDE. Jesus said beware of the scribes who walk around in long robes so they can be greeted with respect in the marketplace.

      What is so wrong about that? The best way to bring this to our day is to imagine me going to WalMart wearing my robe, and a brightly colored stole strolling up and down the isles just so people would say O, It's good to see you preacher. This has made my day."

      The scribes Jesus is talking about wore long robes out of a selfish desire. They wanted attention to boost their pride. For the same selfish reasons they wanted only the best seats in the synagogues and the place of honor at banquets. They were self-centered. Thinking only of themselves.

      The scribes were the lawyers of that day. Because of their office, they became trustees for the estates of widow. That may be a little misleading. The widows were generally helpless and poor. BUT even if they were poor, the scribes would take a percentage of the widows inheritance. They would "devour the widow's home" In their self-centeredness they would take from the widows the little that they had.

      Jesus then switches from the poor widows who are abused by scribes to the poor widow at the temple treasury.

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.

      Jesus said the widow had given more than anyone else. WHY had she given more? Because they gave out of their abundance she gave out of her poverty she gave everything she had all she had to live on.

      When Jesus spoke of the widow giving more he wasn't talking about quantity as much as he was quality.

      When Will Willimon was a young pastor, their church had an emergency appeal for funds to shore up a defunct heating system at the church. They had to raise $10,000 in the dead of winter or close the church until spring.

      Their stewardship chairperson stood up on Sunday morning and appealed to the church. "The way I figure it, if every family gives just $100 more this year, only a few cents a week, we can make our goal."

      That afternoon Willimon was visiting some of the elderly members. At the little cottage of one of their members, a retired schoolteacher, the appeal for funds was mentioned. "Did you hear Joel ask us all to give $100 more this year?" she asked.

      He said that he had heard him, recalling his disappointment that he had put the matter in that way, thinking to himself that their contributing families would have to contribute much more than $100 each if they were to make the goal.

      "Why, $100 is a lot of money," she continued. "But I've prayed about it and God has shown me a way. I subscribe to the newspaper for $40 a year. I also subscribe to National Geographic. I've called a friend down the street who has consented to let me come down and borrow her newspaper and her Geographic after she has finished reading them. So I'm now able to give the money Joel asked us for." God is more interested in the quality of giving than the quantity.

      The apostle Paul reminds us: "God loves a cheerful giver..." 2 Cor. 9:7 Do we give with a glad and generous heart? Or do we begrudge God what is God's in the first place? Do we offer God our first dollars? Or do we offer to God what might be left over?

      The Old Testament standard is the tithe -- 10%. How often do we get hung up at this point on gross vs. net income? When we start worrying about gross vs net income -- or worry about 5% vs 10%, we move from the quality of giving to the quantity of giving.

      The offering of the widow -- two copper coins -- was quality giving The offering of the rich was quantity giving out of their abundance.

      Leslie Flynn in "Dare to Care Like Jesus" tells the following story: "A Christian baroness, living in the highlands of Nairobi, Kenya, told of a young national who was employed as her houseboy. After three months he asked the baroness to give him a letter of reference to a friendly sheik some miles away. The baroness, not wishing the houseboy to leave just when he had learned the routine of the household, offered to increase his pay. The lad replied that he was not leaving for higher pay. Rather, he had decided he would become either a Christian or a Mohammedan.

      This was why he had come to work for the baroness for three months. He had wished to see how Christians acted. Now he wanted to work for three months for the sheik to observe the ways of the Mohammedans.

      Then he would decide which way of life he would follow. The baroness was stunned as she recalled her many blemishes in her dealings with the houseboy. She could only exclaim, 'Why didn't you tell me at the beginning!'"

      Jesus has told us from the beginning condemnation to the mighty, the prideful and self-centered praise to the meek, the generous and selfless

      To Jesus the size of the gift is not important. Jesus was very interested in our attitude toward giving and how our gift compares to what God has given us. Jesus is looking for quality!

      And the widow? The widow "put in everything she had."