Our lesson is all about giving, not about how much to give, but the spirit of giving. No doubt the donations of the wealthy were more substantial than what the widow whom Jesus praised gave (vv. 41b-44). Martin Luther provides a stimulating image for understanding a proper Christian attitude toward stewardship and what we possess. He claims we are to use the possessions we have the way a guest uses a room and its furnishings in a hotel. The guest uses the room and all that is in it while staying there. But it is all on loan, not the guest's to keep.
