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Jealousy or Generosity - Which One Wins?

I was struck just recently by the contrast between two particular people who met Jesus, and his response to them.

One was a prosperous official who had acquired many possessions. Jesus' advice to him was, "Sell everything you have and give to the poor" (see my post of 27th May for a take on what that might mean). This man could have done so much to help those less fortunate than himself, but when Jesus suggested doing so he went away sad. He was far too jealous of his own wealth to consider sharing it. I would like to think, after he had time to reconsider, he was at least motivated to do more than before. But we don't know. His contact with Jesus and the gospel sources seems to end there.

The other person was a poor widow who literally put her last two pennies into the temple offering (Luke 21:1-4). Of her Jesus said, "She, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on". She had no way of knowing how her tiny offering would be used. It might just have helped line the pockets of the priestly class. Yet she was driven by a generous heart to give what she could, and no doubt had faith that God would provide for her needs. 

Surrounded as most of us are by so much wealth, it's easy to become jealous of the lifestyle and possessions of other people. Everything from their house or their car to their diet and the clothes they wear can become targets of jealousy and objects of desire. We may feel that the burden of generosity should fall on those who have more than us, and we need not give much until we are at least as comfortable as they are.

The example of the poor widow says otherwise. 

It's as if we are embedded in a battle between jealousy and generosity. In the sphere of our own lives, we decide which one wins.

And as Bob Marley said—"Before you point the finger, make sure your hands are clean".

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