Devotional: Backwards Thinking

Backwards Thinking

How often do the ways of God contradict the ways of the world? It is the reason He said, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine" (Isaiah 55:8, New Living Translation). Take Proverbs 11:24 for example; it says, "There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty." That seems backwards to our natural thinking! The world teaches us to save, invest, build a nestegg, etc., while God's Word teaches the complete opposite! Saving and investing aren't wrong, of course, but my question is this: if we are only learning and applying the wisdom of the world to our lives, how much are we missing? I think a lot.

But if we will take time to look at God's way of doing things (and then apply what we learn), His Word then becomes a seed in our heart that has great potential to grow and bear much fruit! Take the widow with the two mites for example. Jesus did something unusual. The scriptures say that He "...sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury..." (Mark 12:41). Notice that it doesn't say Jesus saw "what" the people put in or "how much" the people put in the treasury. No, it says Jesus simply watched and saw "how" they put money in.

The problem with the world's thinking is that we assume loyalty from the high donors, but we fail to realize who the high donors are. This verse of scripture continues by noting that "...many who were rich put in much." But that wasn't what Jesus took note of. "Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which makes a quandrans" (Mark 12:42). History tells us that a mite was a very small copper coin worth a fraction of a penny, so in dollars, this widow put in very little. But Jesus "called His disciples to Himself and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury, for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty, put in all that she had, her whole livelihood'" (verses 43-44).

In other words, God looks at percentages not amounts! It's almost as if Jesus had the ability to look through their envelope and directly into their heart. The others gave generously but they had the ability to do so. The widow, however, gave more generously because 100% of a dollar is more than 5% of a thousand dollars if you look at it the way God does -- through percentages. Why is that important? Because it is a reflection of your heart. What percentage of your heart does God have? Five percent? Fifty percent? One Hundred percent? Do you now see why percentages are important to God? To judge any other way would make God unfair, and therefore, unholy.

Jesus said the widow "...put in more than all those who have given to the treasury" meaning she put in what was precious to her. Those two mites, in her day, may have been milk for her baby or grain for a week. Therefore, what she put in had a greater value than the rich man who put in a lot but had plenty more where that came from. How do we know this? Because Jesus watched "how" they put their money in. This indicates that Jesus saw something in their face or body language as they gave. The widow may have stood at the treasury momentarily looking at her two mites before she dropped them in, while the others may have been more engrossed in who was paying attention to the amount they were putting in.

In any case, the point is that the value of the widow's offering was set by her and no one else. Because it was precious to her (meaning it was all she had, not that she had a love of money), then it became precious to God too. And when something touches the heart of God, His anointing touches it. That's why Proverbs says, "There is one who scatters, yet increases more..." We must learn to let things go. We say the old cliche that "you can't take it with you" but that's not how we always act. We act as if God and His Word can't be trusted. And don't you know that God sees that when we give? What can He do then? We have tied His hands and lost our blessing. "There is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty." Why does it lead to poverty? Because 100% of what is yours is limited, while 100% of what we give to God is unlimited! If I keep it for me and my four and no more, it will eventually run out. But if I give it in faith to God and trust His investment plan with it, I have an unlimited heavenly resource to draw from.

But not everybody can handle this. This type of thinking takes faith. When the rich, young ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, the answer discouraged him. Jesus told him, "One thing you lack; go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven..." (Mark 10:21). The rich, young ruler became very sad at this word for he had great possessions. The problem was his lack of faith and understanding. Jesus didn't ask him to become poor. Jesus asked him to sell whatever he had and give to the poor. Like a lot of our young people today, this young ruler probably had something similar to a backpack with an expensive phone in it, a brand-new ipod and keys to a decent car, not considering the designer shoes and clothes he was wearing. Jesus tested his heart when He said, "...sell whatever you have and give to the poor..." The young ruler was sorrowful because he didn't want to let go of his things. He probably still had great possessions at home and "more where that came from" to replace what he sold. He didn't realize that actually, his great possessions had him! He didn't comprehend that God was well able to replace and multiply anything we give in His Name.

"If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you" (Proverbs 19:17, New Living Translation)! Remember God is a just and holy God. When He repays, He will repay with interest. You will receive "...exceedingly, abundantly, more than you could ever ask or think..." (Ephesians 3:20). The young ruler didn't understand that giving is proof that you have conquered greed. However, the widow woman did. She trusted in the One who is faithful to His promises. "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us" (2 Corinthians 1:20). The saying is true: if God can get it through you, He can get it to you!