What is biblical generosity, and how does it impact charitable giving?

June 1, 2024

By Evan Holguin

June 1, 2024

Black and white artwork of a widow — The Widow’s Mite (ca. 1898) by Gustave Doré / Photo © Look and Learn / Bridgeman Images

It can be tempting to reduce the Bible to a kind of divine rulebook when it comes to charitable giving: If I donate this much money or this much time, then I’ll be square with God.

But biblical generosity is greater than a mere checklist. In fact, we have things backward if we focus on how much money we give rather than how much of ourselves we give.

Look to the Gospel story of the widow’s mite: After silently watching a multitude of people give lavishly to the temple, Jesus praises a widow who gives only two small coins.

“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury,” Jesus said. “For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood” (Mk 12:43-44).

Jesus’ message is clear — we must be prepared to give everything to God, and not begrudgingly, but with joy. St. Paul writes, “Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7).

Like the widow, there are some whom God calls to truly contribute everything. But for most of us, our total gift of self is lived out through fiscal responsibility that prioritizes generous, sacrificial giving.

And by giving cheerfully, we too turn even the smallest coins into a great offering to the Lord.

Visit kofc.org/familyfinance for more resources to help you and your family cultivate biblical generosity.

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EVAN HOLGUIN is a relationship manager with Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, sponsoring a donor- advised fund program. He is a member of St. Ambrose Council 6801 in North Branford, Conn.

What is biblical generosity, and how does it impact charitable giving?

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