Making money off the widow’s mite

-drawing by Amy Pectol,

http://amypectol.com/

Two widows’ passages are used as examples to give all freely away to the church. But are they really being used to rob the widow?

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There are 2 widows’ passages used by prosperity preachers. This is the part you hear:

1. the widow’s mite

Mar 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

Mar 12:43 And he called [unto him] his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

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2. the widow that fed Elijah

1Ki 17:12 And she said, [As] the LORD thy God lives, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I [am] gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

1Ki 17:13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go [and] do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring [it] unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

1Ki 17:16 [And] the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah.

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Conclusions usually given from these passages:

1. both widows offered to give all they had to God

2. God is pleased when we give all we have to Him (ie. to church, who represents God to us), especially when we cannot afford it because it is an act of faith.

3. God will reward our giving with more than we had to begin with.

Problems:

1. The widow’s mite – let us go back and see what Jesus was really saying.

These are the preceding verses:

Mar 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and [love] salutations in the marketplaces,

Mar 12:40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

Mar 12:41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

Mar 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

Here we see that Jesus was criticizing the Scribes for robbing the widow, and just as he finished speaking of this, a good example came along. A widow put in all she had. Maybe she wanted someone to pray for her.

Instead of the scribes giving to the widow, the widow was giving to them. The system was backwards, and Jesus said they were devouring the widow.

We never are told that she offered to do this. She may or may not have done this willingly. She may have felt obligated.

We are never told that she received back more than she gave. If she gave all she had, then she could not do this again, like weekly, since she was now out of money.

2. the widow that fed Elijah – points:

a. the widow did not offer to feed Elijah. It was not a free will offering. He had to ask.

b. the widow first objected to do this

1Ki 17:12 And she said, [As] the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I [am] gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

c. she finally complied after Elijah assured her that she and her son would be taken care of

1Ki 17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day [that] the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

1Ki 17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat [many] days

d. this was not a weekly giving on the part of the widow. It was a one time act of obedience, in which God helped her afterwards.

e. The widow was giving to a true prophet of God, when asked, who gave back to her more than she gave.

She was not giving to a preacher who would take her money, and give her nothing in return.

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What does God command regarding the widow?

Exd 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

Deu 10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.

Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Jer 7:6 [If] ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,

Zec 7:10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor;

Oppression

If you are requiring offerings from widows, instead of helping them with food and raiment, as God commands, you are oppressing the widow.

If you are telling the poor to give all they have, when they cannot even afford to buy food or pay bills, you are oppressing the poor.

Neither, now, have what they need to live.

No real “man of God” would oppress the widow and the poor. He would give to them, not take from them.