Giving till it hurts

Our text for Sunday School this Sunday was Mark 12:35-44. The passage talks about a widow who gave all of the money she had as an offering. Jesus praises the woman's generosity because she gave out of her poverty. He criticizes those who are rich and give out of their abundance, because of the pride they take in their giving.
This has a lot to do with why Jesus was killed. He criticized the powers to be. Those that have the most money, have the most power. You criticize these, and you are in trouble. It is this way in the church. Those who contribute the most to the budget have the most power in the church. If you cross them, you are not going to be successful as a minister because they will strong-arm you out of their church. Jesus is speaking against this in the passage, however.
You see it with talents as well. We talked about the text as a stewardship issue, but I see it as a service issue as well. Those who have the most visual talents, get the most praise in the church. Others are doing just as worthy of work, but they do not get the credit because they work behind the scenes. Credit is not what we should seek for, however. The widow received no credit from the people in the Temple, but she received credit from Jesus. I have to remember this in my own service. We may not have the money to be a huge contributor in the church. We may not have the talents to be a visible contributor in the church. But if we are doing the best we can with what God has given us, we will get all of the credit we deserve when we get to heaven.