Imagine this
A church has a ministry for the children and there they allow the opportunity for these children to contribute financially. Keep in mind that they are kids, and so:
- Most probably they won’t be contributing R100 each
- Most probably not everyone will make a contribution
Imagining that there were lots of financial contributions from that day, the total sum of which being R102, I’d like to ask a question.
The Question
Would I be doing good by taking the R102 in loose change, and replacing it with R1200?
Arguably, and accurately so, the church would be able to do more with the R1200 than with the R102.
A closer look
The short answer is no, and I say this because:
- The money that I would replace the lesser amount with was not prayed over.
- The R102 was given in faith. The R1200 was given out abundance.
In the Gospels, we read of an old lady who gave in two copper coins into the offering basket, and Jesus commends her more than He does those who put in larger sums of money. Those verses read as follows:
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” – Mark 12:41-44 ESV
Jesus commends her not because of the value of one penny, but because of the faith she had to put it in.
You don’t always have to be the best person for the job
I would argue that a faithful servant who hasn’t perfected his craft, is more suitable to God than a seasoned veteran with a cold heart.
And maybe what this means for some of us is that we should start serving less. Not so that we can become slothful, but so that we can seek God and His wisdom, and assess which areas we serve in out of faith, and which areas we serve in out of necessity or compulsion.
Martha and Mary show us something very important.
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:38-42 ESV
Jesus is more interested in developing a relationship with you than He is in you serving vehemently. Martha made the assumption that in that moment, serving is what she should be doing, and more so she assumed the same for her sister.
Moving forward
In light this, it should be our great joy and privilege to say “No.” to all the good things we could do, so that we can be faithful in whatever task God has given us to do. As opposed to saying “Yes.” to what we think we should do, and missing out on what it is we should actually be doing.
You don’t have to be the most qualified to serve God, just the most faithful. Click To Tweet
