Well, dear friends, if it's November it's not just election time, it's also stewardship time.  It was tempting to find something to connect this message to last week's election circus, but I think we've heard more than enough about that.  I'm not sure about all the lessons to be gained from this mess, and it's probable we won't learn them.  Yet no matter how we may feel about the outcome or the process, our elections are still the most accurate in the world.  And remember, it was our Veterans who earned our freedoms.

          As for an antidote to the political madness, you and I just need to keep our lives tuned to God and His standards.  We need to insist that our leaders do the same.  If we Christians only follow the ways of the world, we'll be led farther and farther from God's truth and also from common sense.  So for the next few minutes, let's all fix our eyes on Jesus.  If you do, I guarantee you'll get a hundred times more than from the media, the polls or the political parties.

          We know this story of the Widow's Mite so well.  Jesus and His disciples were observing people giving their temple offering and amid all the regular and rich folks, there came a poor woman, dressed in tatters, stoop-shoulder from hard work, and financially on her last leg.  While others put in a few of their many shekels, she dropped in her last two copper coins, giving all she had, everything, to God.

          What the rich young man could not do, she did easily.  She gave it all away.  So far as we know only Jesus and the disciples saw her.  She was one of those invisible people of the world, doing the best she could, a bit player in life's drama among the major actors and even a few stars.

          The preachers, teachers and other self-important people were very noticeable.  Being a Priest, Levite or Scribe carried a good salary, and they wore the clothes to prove it.  Normally they were the ones to watch, but Jesus was watching the widow.  She was out of money, out of food, perhaps out of hope, but still she gave back to God everything she had.  Then she disappeared out of sight, but not out of history.  Jesus made her an eternal example of faith.  He said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."  This poor widow in rags became a shining example of pure faith and trust.

          Her sacrifice was complete, which made her last penny a fortune in God's eyes.  If you think giving God a tithe - one tenth of your income - is a heroic step for you, try following her act.  She was a percentage giver, all right, one hundred percent!  But still, should we admire her?  Was it right for her to give everything to a corrupt church and to its workers who lived far better than she?  What if a widow you knew gave all she had to a TV Evangelist?  Would that be a good deed or a crying shame?

          Notice that Jesus didn't run over to help her out of her poverty, nor to pat her on the back for being generous.  Rather, He invited His disciples to see this invisible woman and the disparity between abundance and poverty, between a thousand dollar check and a penny.  He did not dismiss the gifts of the rich.  He did not say they were wrong.  He simply pointed out that the major characters were the minor givers, while the minor character turned out to be the biggest donor of all.  It all comes down to the motive, not the amount.  It all depends on our faith, not our finances.

          Jenny, a pretty redhead with bouncy curls, was almost five.  Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, something caught her eye - a circle of glistening white pearls.  "Oh please, Mommy, can I have them?  Please, Mommy, please?"  Her mother checked the price and then looked back at her pleading little girl.  "They're $1.95, and if you really want them, I'll give you extra chores and in no time you can save enough money to buy them.  And maybe you'll get a new dollar bill from Grandma for your birthday."

          As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her bank and counted out 17 pennies.  After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and then asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.  Grandma did give her a new dollar, so soon she had enough money to buy the necklace.  Jenny loved her pearls.  They made her feel so grown up.  She wore them everywhere - Sunday school, Kindergarten, even to bed.  Her Mother said not to take them swimming or they might fall apart.

          Jenny also had a loving daddy and every night, he would stop whatever he was doing and come up at bedtime to read her a story.  One night when he'd finished a story, he asked her, "Jenny, do you love me?"  "Oh yes, Daddy.  You know I love you."  "Then give me your pearls," he said.  "Oh, Daddy, not my pearls.  You can have Princess, my white horse with the pink tail.  She's my favorite animal."  "That's okay, Honey," he said, "Daddy loves you.  Good night."  And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

          A week later, after story time, daddy asked her again, "Jenny, do you love me?"  "Daddy, you know I love you."  "Then give me your pearls."  "Oh Daddy, not my pearls.  You can have my new baby doll that I got for my birthday.  She is so beautiful but you can have her.  But not my pearls."  Her Daddy replied, "That's okay, honey.  God loves you, and so do I."  And again he kissed her good night.

          A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style.  As he came close, he noticed tears on her cheeks.  "What is it, Jenny?"  But Jenny didn't say anything, only lifted her little hand up and gave him her little pearl necklace.  With a little quiet voice, she said, "Here, Daddy.  They're for you."  With tears in his own eyes, her Daddy reached out one hand to take her dime-store necklace, and with his other hand he gave her a blue velvet case.  It contained a strand of genuine pearls, very costly and far more beautiful than hers.  Her father had them all the time, but was waiting for his child to give up her dime-store stuff so he could give her a real treasure.

          So it is with our Heavenly Father.  He's waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so He can give us real treasures.  What are you holding on to that God wants you to let go of?  What bad habits, unnecessary things, or harmful relationships do you have that seem impossible to let go?  Hear this:  God will never take away something from you without giving you something better in its place.

          But you and I will never know what's in His other hand until we open our hands and give up all that separates us from Him.  Only when we are willing to give up what we treasure most can God give us the treasures we truly need.

          Something else about this story can easily be missed.  This poor widow was at her end; and so was Jesus.  In a few days she might die of starvation; in a few days He would certainly die for a starving world.  She gave her two coins for a corrupt church; He was about to give His lifeblood for a corrupt world.  She withheld nothing from God; neither did He.  Maybe that's why Jesus noticed her.  He saw in this woman a reflection of Himself.  Maybe that's what He was really telling His disciples. "Look at her and what's she's doing.  That's what I've been telling you about.  I came to give it my all."  This story isn't about giving a little, but giving all.

          Jesus could not have picked a less likely role model.  She'd received her life from God, and was ready to give it back; so was He.  Well, then, how about us?  How much are we holding back for ourselves?  Will we give back to God what He's given us?  Or will we think, "But this is mine - I worked for it - let me have what's mine!"  You see, only when we're willing to give up the cheap stuff can we really have the treasures.

          Little Jenny and the old widow have a lot in common.  Both were willing to give up everything in an act of faith.  Will we join them, or will we grasp what we have and hold it more tightly than ever?  Will we clench our fists, or will we let go of what divides us from Christ, who gave us His all, that we might receive all He has to give?  Amen.

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.