A Lesson on Giving

 


There is a story you can read in the Bible book of Mark that I have always LOVED.  In it, Jesus is sitting down at the temple, opposite the place where people are putting their offerings into the “donation box”.  Many rich people throw in large sums of money…but then a poor widow comes and puts in two small copper coins worth only a few cents.

At this point Jesus calls his disciples to him, and says, “‘Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.’” (Mark 12:43-44)

Today, this story took on a whole new meaning for me.

The couple above is Andrew and Kelsey.  They are here leading a group of young people from Kirk of the Hills Church in St. Louis, Missouri.  In July they will get married, however while they are here working in Nicaragua, Kelsey opted to wear a silicone ring rather than the one Andrew gave her for their engagement.

Our work this week is in the Nicaraguan community of San Benito.  We are working side by side with community members, digging trenches with pickaxes and shovels, then laying pvc pipes in order to bring water into the homes of the 110 families living there.  

Yesterday, as Kelsey was digging alongside one of the community leaders, she noticed the leader was wearing a very pretty wedding ring.  So, using broken Spanish, and hand signals, Kelsey said that she liked the ring.  She managed to pantomime that she and Andrew would be married the following month.  At that point the leader noticed Kelsey’s silicone band, and immediately removed her own beautiful ring and practically begged Kelsey to take it. 

CRAZY!

This woman, who lives in a one-room, cinderblock home with dirt floors; who has no running water, and uses a latrine when she needs to go to the bathroom, wanted to bless Kelsey in a way that is, to me, almost unimaginable. 

As Americans we have so much!  And, like the people putting large sums of money into the offertory, we often tend to “give” (whether financially, or of our time or talents) out of our excess.  But maybe, we should instead be more like the woman who gave two coins, or like the leader who took off her ring – and look for opportunities to bless others without thinking about the cost.

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(For the record, Kelsey was able to convince the woman she had a ring at home! 😊)

 

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