Too often, we are either awarded or judged by the size or kind of gift we give. The focus is put on the actual gift itself instead of on the heart of the person who is giving it. When we give a gift from our heart, it’s worth everything because it’s a gift of love, and love comes in all sizes.
Too many people have been hurt and intimidated because they didn’t have the means to offer an expensive gift. And it’s a bad enough feeling when you’re the only one giving at the time with a small gift, but it’s very intimidating when you have others around you who can flaunt their expensive gifts.
Jesus told a similar story about the widow who gave her only two coins into the collection dish. He didn’t praise the rich for their large contributions, but instead, He admired the woman because even though her gift was small, it was all she had, and she gave it with a heart of love. This truly is the best kind of gift.
- And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”—Luke 21:1-4
Whatever we give, should be given as unto the Lord. Whether it’s a large financial offering or a very humble one, it should be given with a heart of thanksgiving. And so we thank God that we have this amount to give. And it should also be given with a heart of prayer. And so we pray that God blesses it for the purpose it’s being given and to His glory.
And on the other hand, some of the most valuable gifts we can receive at times are the ones that are given in love. It doesn’t matter about size or material value when someone goes out of their way to give something that’s from their heart. It such a wonderful feeling to know that this person cared that much to give something that was special to them. There is no greater gift to receive than one that’s given out of love.
And we can carry this attitude into our financial support to Godly ministries. When we give from our heart and prayerfully, God blesses our gift, and it becomes of great value. And this ministry may receive dozens or even thousands of small gifts, but they add up to fill the need. Then we become part of that ministry, if even in just a very small way. But it’s satisfying to know that even the few dollars we give are appreciated.
- So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.—2 Corinthians 9:7
Before we give any gifts to anyone, we need to know who we are giving these gifts to. As Christians, all of our gifts, regardless of what they are, should be given as unto the Lord. Then we can give what we have from our heart and know that our gift has brought great joy to God. And then we will be able to give that gift to whoever we want and know that it’s being given in love and with God’s blessing regardless how large or how trivial it might appear.
We need to stop caring what others around us might think, and we need to stop being concerned about not being publically appreciated for what we do or give. We should never be ashamed of our gift, but at the same time, we should always give humbly and as unto God.
- Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.—Matthew 10:31
No matter what size gift we give, whether it’s to a ministry, a benevolence fund or a personal gift to someone we love, we will always feel the blessings of God in it when we give it as unto the Lord. We can’t give the Lord anything but our hearts, but how we use our heart will bless God. As Matthew 25:40 says, whatever we do unto others, we do unto Him.
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