All In, Additional Thoughts

 All In, 2

Mark12: 41-44

“…they contributed out of their abundance.”

“…she put in everything she had” 

I have been thinking about stewardship lately as I am preparing some thoughts to share at church about stewardship and education. When I came across this text for this morning’s devotion, I couldn’t help but see some implications. Earlier this year I ran across this account in Luke so I’m drawing on some of what I wrote at that time. When we think about stewardship, we think about giving, especially in terms of money, but also in terms of time and talent, It is so easy to sit down, with all good intentions, and look at our budgets, our calendars, take talent and interest inventories…. However, I think we all know that it begins with our hearts. Some might call it a mind set, but I think that it’s deeper than that. I also think that many, at least this is true for me, assume that since we are looking at ways to improve our stewardship, then our hearts are “in the right place”. But, what about stewardship of my heart, of my relationship to God and God’s community? How can I develop that more completely.

And here we have the example of the poor widow; she had developed stewardship of her heart of her very being. Notice in the account that Jesus doesn’t necessarily look down on those who had given larger sums of money. Rather, he points out a difference in motivation, maybe self-perception of where one stands in that individual’s relationship with God and God’s community. And it begs the question, with how much of my self-interest am I willing to trust God? Jesus said, “love God; love others” intimating that the rest will take care of itself. 

In my earlier thoughts on this account, I had written that the poor widow was “all in” in her understanding, her perception of her relationship with God. Her contribution was not an act of religious obligation she had planned and was now fulfilling. It was a natural extension of who she was, a natural response to being in a relationship. There were no boxes to tick off for her; tithed, check; went to church so many times, check; participated in x number of service events, check…

So, try beginning to think about stewardship with this question. With how much of my self-interest am I ready to trust God? The answer to that could leave us feeling rather low. But the good news is that God in Christ meets us, self-interest and all, where we are, and God’s Spirit guides us to growth. Jesus did not look down on the contributions of the more wealthy, yet he directed us to the attitude of the poor widow that prompted her contribution. Let’s strive to be “all in” in our relationship with God and God’s community and the rest will flow.