The widow's mite: an example of sacrificial giving or modern religious abuse?

What a title! I'm sure we all know the answer, right? The widow's mite was a beautiful example of sacrificial giving, now praised in pulpits around the globe. At least, that's what I've always been told. Surely that can't be wrong, can it? As I discuss this passage here and show how the story of the widow's mite is often misused, let it also serve as a lesson that careful Bible study is absolutely necessary to avoid being confused by various teachers.

The story of the widow's mite is related in Mark 12:42-44 and Luke 21:1-4, but I'll be making the argument that really the whole chapter should be included in the story. Looking at these isolated verses, it seems like a nice simple story. The rich cast in much, but Jesus notices a poor widow who puts in only a few coins. He comments that she has given much more than anyone else because it was all she had. That's a story that will preach! The cries ring out: Give your all to Jesus! Won't you give your all to the Lord's work? This poor widow had nothing and gave to the Lord's work, surely you can give your 10% ! Of course, those in the 'prosperity gospel' camp are the biggest swindlers, but you will hear these types of things in fundamentalist and evangelical crowds too. Instead of “give me money and God will bless you”, it is phrased, “To be a good faithful Christian, you need to put God first in your finances (and that means putting your 10% in the plate)”. While the fundies and gellies tend to be more cautious about promising blessing, they will still tell stories of those who gave during hard times and how it worked out better in the end, floating the implication that tithing had something to do with it.

In all this, everyone seems to miss the fact that Jesus does not point out this woman as an example of righteousness, but as a victim of a wicked religious system. Jesus' observation of this widow is not a random, standalone happenstance, but occurs as his final blow in a dispute with the scribes, elders, and chief priests that started in Luke 20:1. This dispute starts when Jesus is teaching in the temple and the priests came looking for trouble. They wanted to catch Jesus in his words and make him look stupid, but instead they are the ones who end up looking foolish. After some time and a barrage of questions, they realize they are fighting a losing battle and so they stop talking (Luke 20:40). But Jesus isn't done yet. He goes on the attack, challenging their understanding and showing that the Messiah must be God's son according to the Scriptures. He then turns to the audience and says:

Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; Which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation. (v.46-47)

Immediately after Jesus says this, he looks up to see people giving their offerings and points out the widow who put in everything that she had (Luke 21:1-4). In other words, Jesus is delivering a scathing rebuke about the scribes, only to look up and behold a perfect example of his warning. It's like he's saying, “Look, even now, do you see that poor woman over there? She just gave everything that she had. That's exactly how they are devouring widows' homes!” So, from the context it is obvious that Jesus is not praising this woman for giving her all, but he is pointing her out as a victim of the abusive religious system that he is condemning. Interestingly enough, despite his other errors, John MacArthur is one of the few to get this one right, as seen in this video. However, he merely applies this to the prosperity preachers, missing the fact that evangelicals can be almost as guilty.

Just to be clear, sacrificial giving is not the problem. The problem is when bad leaders make Christians feel like they are in some way obligated to give, but this is especially bad when done to the poor. There is a time and place to dig deep and give, as mentioned of the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8, but Paul only accepted their giving after 'much intreaty' (v.4). He also goes out of his way to make it clear to the Corinthians that any giving is to be done voluntarily and without any feelings of compulsion or necessity (9:7). It would be wrong for pastors to compel giving/tithing for even good causes, but observe, where does the money go after it's put in the offering plate? Paying for the church building, insurance policies, new sound systems, etc. A super-pastor building a church in his own image is bad enough, but to build it on the backs of the poor is downright evil!

How much this applies to modern churches! Not all, but many pastors are either 'rock stars' or authoritarian 'men of God'. They love the dress-up, the show, the way people treat them, the position of authority and importance. They'll do what it takes to keep up their spiritual image, and they have no problem taking money from the widows and the poor to support all this! As we've seen with the widow's mite, they'll even take the very passage where Jesus taught against this kind of abuse and twist it to support their doctrine! It would seem that Satan has an appreciation for irony.

There's a few things to learn and apply from this. First and foremost, if this describes your church, run away and take as many people with you as you can! In addition, this passage is a great example of how easily Scripture can be twisted right under your nose. How many times have Christians read over this passage, yet still most wrongly teach that it's about sacrificial giving. I admit that even I didn't see this until recently when a friend shared a helpful article. It just goes to show that if you want to really 'get' Scripture, you have to be very discerning about teachers. If you aren't paying close attention, it's very easy to get duped. Let this motivate you to further concentrate your study of the Scriptures.