What’s Your “Two Cents”?
You know that expression, “my two cents”? We’re used to hearing this phrase when someone wants to offer their opinion about something—usually when it wasn’t asked for, and even though they’re aware that their two cents might not be worth that much to the other person. But there is someone who values our two cents quite a bit. There’s a story in the Bible where one woman’s two cents was worth a whole lot more than one might think…
Scripture: ‘The Widow’s Offering’
Mark 12:41-44: The story of ‘the widow’s offering’ in Mark 12 is only four verses long. But this story is packed with power. It starts with verse 41, which describes Jesus sitting down in the Temple where he had been teaching, and he watches as people put their money into the collection box. A lot of rich people are putting in large amounts, and then Jesus sees a poor widow who dropped in two small coins. He tells his disciples, “This poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, as poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on” (Mark 12:43-44 NLT). The Message translation says, “All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”
We all have our own “two small coins”
I think it would be easy for someone to hear this story and wonder if it’s telling us that we should also give away everything we have. But that’s not what this story is about. In fact, I don’t think it’s even about the money.
When I was thinking about how this story applies in the present day, it became clear to me that we all have our own “two small coins” in our lives—that is, the parts of our lives that we might be tempted to cling onto instead of giving them to God; that thing that we know God’s calling us to surrender, but that we’re not quite willing to give up.
Our “two small coins”: the parts of our lives that we might be tempted to cling onto instead of giving them to God
Maybe your “two small coins” is that God’s calling you to serve at church, but you’re not willing to give up any more of your free time. Maybe God’s calling you to go to counseling or a recovery program, but you’re not willing to relinquish control. Maybe it’s that one habit that you’ve struggled to kick for good and that you know doesn’t honor God, but you’re not willing to give up the temporary comfort it gives you.
What will it cost?
You can probably think of your own “two coins” right now. Because when we’re seeking God and listening for His voice, He shows us the areas where He wants to teach and correct us. After all, we are His children whom He disciplines out of love (Hebrews 12:6). So it’s not a surprise if you’ve experienced a nudge—a feeling that God’s asking you to surrender something to Him. He wants to be first in our lives, and He calls us to keep away from anything that takes God’s place in our hearts (1 John 5:21). But the problem is that many of us struggle to obey because we know it will cost us something.
Two cents certainly cost the woman in the story something. Those coins wouldn’t have been missed by the rich people, but it was probably scary for the woman to give those up. It took faith—faith that God would continue to provide for her even if she couldn’t see how that would happen; faith that God would use the little she had and multiply it for His glory. Who knows what she was choosing to give up that day by putting everything she had to live on into the collection box? But knowing that our Father is good, kind, and compassionate and wants us to be generous, I’ll bet the woman ended up receiving everything she needed here on earth, and all the more in heaven.
“If you give up your life for me, you will find it.”
We might not feel ready to give God what we think we can’t afford to lose, but that’s where our faith comes in. We need to trust Him—trust Him with the circumstances we don’t see a way out of; with the conflicts we don’t see how to resolve; with the guilt and shame we don’t know how to get rid of— and then He will come and do what only He can do, and His name will be glorified because of it. Our own “two small coins” matter to God. He wants all of us. And we don’t need to worry about the cost, because what we end up gaining far surpasses what we’re afraid to let go of. We gain healing, restoration, freedom, life—and life more abundantly (John 10:10). Jesus reassures us, "If you give up your life for me, you will find it” (Matthew 10:39).
The Takeaway
God isn’t pleased by the amount of money or time we give in His name; He’s pleased by our willingness to surrender our entire hearts & lives to Him and to trust Him with the rest.
