HIGH RISK STRATEGY-1 (LUKE 21:1-4)

Jesus commended the poor widow for giving from an honest and sacrificial heart. REFLECTION The theme for our reflection is high-risk strategy. A high-risk is a person or group of people more likely than others to fail or in the realm of health, to get a particular disease, condition, or injury. A high-risk strategy therefore…

Jean-Paul Agidi

Dec 28, 2021

2–3 minutes

Jesus commended the poor widow for giving from an honest and sacrificial heart.

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is high-risk strategy. A high-risk is a person or group of people more likely than others to fail or in the realm of health, to get a particular disease, condition, or injury. A high-risk strategy therefore is any plan or intervention put in place to identify a group of people who are most likely to fail and steps taken to protect them by preventing the causes of the said failure.

In today’s Scripture reading, Jesus identifies a group of people who are at high-risk of becoming dishonest in giving. The high-risk group identified was the rich. The poor widow’s honesty was acknowledged by Jesus because she gave out of her poverty and gave sacrificially all that she had. This means that she practically gave everything she had she and she indeed gave from an honest heart. Most rich people are at the high-risk of giving dishonestly thinking that what they have offered publicly by their own standard and acknowledgement of other people might be pleasing to God.

The high-risk strategy Jesus offers is that, for the rich not to fail the honesty and sacrificial test, they must give like the poor widow who even in her poverty offered her best from a sincere heart. It should also be noted that that the poor also are at a high-risk of using their poverty as an excuse and not giving sacrificially and honestly from their poverty.

My dear friend, whether you are rich or poor the act of giving must be done sacrificially and in total honesty before God. Giving must not be reduced to public display of wealth or riches but an act of worship between the giver and God. The virtues of sacrifice and honesty were missing from the giving of the rich in Luke 21:1-4. The high-risk strategy to prevent God from being displeased with our giving is to count our blessings, acknowledge God’s faithfulness to us and offer our offering honestly and sacrificially to please God and not ourselves and the people around us. Shalom.

PRAYER

Almighty God, we at high-risk of not giving honestly and sacrificially may we fully embrace the example of Jesus on the cross as our high-risk strategy through the act of giving and worship. Amen.

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)