'To Bless All Mankind' June 4, 2018 Issue

Meaningful giving

Liz Butterfield Wallingford

A version of this article appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, January 22, 2018.

What makes a giver?

A lot of heartwarming stories out there would suggest that there’s more to giving than simply dispensing funds. For example, in my community, children celebrating birthdays have asked friends to donate pet supplies to the local animal shelter instead of bringing gifts. And on the global scene, in November, Haiti pledged a donation to other islands hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria—one that’s “almost sacrificial” in the context of the resources Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, has (see editorial on facing page).

In another instance, quite some time ago, a poor widow dropped two coins into her temple’s treasury. The amount paled in comparison to what the wealthy folks around her were contributing, but her offering didn’t go unnoticed or unvalued. It caught the eye of Christ Jesus, who commented, “This poor widow put in more than all of them, for they have all put in what they can easily spare, but she in her poverty has given away her whole living” (Luke 21:3, 4, J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English).

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