Our Senior assembly on Wednesday had the theme ‘Generosity’. We read the Gospel account of the rich people putting lots of money into the treasury and the poor widow putting in just two small coins, but Jesus saying that it was the poor widow who had contributed the most, because she had given all that she had to live on, whereas the rich people had given money they had to spare.
Every year the Charities Aid Foundation publish a report called the World Giving Index. This report charts changes in charitable behaviour over the years in all parts of the world. By the measures used by the Charities Aid Foundation the most generous people in the world are those living in Indonesia, followed by Kenya, Singapore and then The Gambia. The highest ranked European country is Ukraine.
The United Kingdom ranked 22nd, with, sadly, the report noting: ‘The UK’s index score has trended down over the past decade’. 22nd equalled the UK’s lowest ranking since the report first began.
When measuring generosity the Charities Aid Foundation use three measures: whether someone has donated to charity in the past month; whether someone has helped a stranger or someone else in need; whether someone has volunteered time to an organisation. Only one out of the three criteria involves money.
In his teaching about the poor widow, and in their World Giving Index, both Jesus and the Charities Aid Foundation show that generosity is not measured by ‘how much’. It is measured by willingness, commitment and sacrifice.
The rich people gave away a lot, but it didn’t really make any difference to them. There was little in the way of sacrifice. They did not really need to think about what they were doing. The poor widow though sacrificed everything. She knew what the cost of her giving would be. She was the truly generous one. In the World Giving Index 65% of adults in Indonesia volunteered time to an organisation; in the UK the figure was 26%.
Like with any of Jesus’ teachings we have an invitation to apply his message to our own lives and to challenge ourselves. How truly generous are we – not just with our money, but with our time, and with our commitment to stretch out a helping hand to anyone who is need. Am I doing all that I can, or is there anything else I could be doing that is for the benefit of others, for the common good?
