It’s All in Your Mind

There is a third thought here. Any money given or service rendered is accepted by God. If there is first a willing mind, the gift or service is accepted. God accepts your service done with a willing mind according to your ability. Think of the opposite for a moment. To give or to serve without a willing mind is not accepted. How much are we doing for the Lord without willingness? Possibly a great deal of our Christian service is not accepted because we do it under duress. We finish it and then breathe a sigh of relief and say, "Thank goodness that's over with." An illustration of this attitude is found in Mark 12, again, with the subjei.-t of giving. This is the account of the widow's mite. Here is a poor widow-and in Bible times all widows were poor. You remember that this is what brought the first problem in the early church in Acts 6. This widow probably was taken care of by some benevolent means. Now, logically, this woman could have sat in her room and said that she had nothing to give. Yet, for some reason, she made a decision. That decision was to go to the temple and give two mites- maybe a quarter or a third of a penny. Hardly worth considering for us. This widow could have stayed in her room and said to the Lord, "You see my heart and my intention, but I have only two coins, and I really need them myself" We all do this in our Christian e><perience. We rationalize. This is especially true with money. We can always reason why we should not have a willing mind. But this woman came to a decision; a decision similar to the Corinthians-an attitude, an intention. Only the Corinthians took a long time to perform their intents; the widow did not. She went and threw her two mites in the treasury box. She had a willing mind. Did you ever notice that Christ did not talk to her? Christ did not say one word to the widow. He looked at her offering; he analyzed it; he approved it; he commended it and quietly whispered to the disciples that this poor widow had cast in more than the others. He did not belittle the giving of the others; he made a comparison of their mental attitudes. They gave because they were able to give with abundance, but she cast in all she had. I wonder how she was going to live on the morrow? She did it quietly.. I assume she did it cheerfully and certainly self-denyingly. Someone has written, "God is pleased when our gifts cost us something."' Whether it is time, talent, or money, God is pleased when our gifts cost something. Someone else has written, "'God judges by what you have kept not by what you have given." The Corinthians were saying, "We made the promise, but you see we're poor. We have only enough to live ourselves."' In Mark 12:44, we find that a willing mind involves complete trust in God. Someone says, "Faith asks no questions." The widow was only concerned with the present; she left the future to God. She gave all she had. What kind of an attitude do you have? Are there some intentions you made with your mind that you have never accomplished? That does not mean the need is no longer there. There must be a willing mind that submits to God and doesn't pay any attention to what that action is going to do to our pleasurable, selfish obligations or opportunities. God doesn't expect us to do more than our abilities. When we do what we are able to do, it is accepted by Him. The widow made a decision with her mind. She went quietly to the temple. She gave her two mites. The lord said, "Here is a woman of great faith. She is concerned only about the present and is trusting God for the future." God does not cheat He does not cheat His 12 [