Preachers Who Steal

PREACHERS WHO STEAL 

When Jesus saw a widow give her last 2 cents to the temple, he told his disciples that she gave everything she had to the temple, and even though it was so little, because it was everything she had, it outweighed the money given from people who had a lot and gave large amounts of money.   (see Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-3).

In the passages preceding both of these accounts, Jesus condemned the teachers of the Law for pride and for devouring widow’s houses.  Devouring widow’s houses sounds a bit strange and has its share of explanations from various Bible scholars, who take this passage very literally and claim that these teachers found ways to physically enter widows' houses and steal from them.  I have never found any such custom in Israel in any legitimate source and those who claim the teachers had this practice base their findings entirely on Mark and Luke.

I don't think the ancient teachers entered the houses of widows to steal.  Rather, I believe that they were taking from widows' homes by living in wealth and in prosperity from the donations of the widows who gave everything they had to the temple.  

In Luke and in Mark, these passages are next to each other.  Context in the Bible is everything.  When passages and stories are next to each other in the Bible, it usually means there is a strong relationship between the passages - they were written to enlighten each other.  The passages in both Mark and Luke are meant to be together because they are addressing the same issue. 

The connection between the widow giving everything she had and the teachers stealing from widow is made even stronger because in both passages the "widow" stands out.  Again, context is important.  When words are repeated in the Bible, those words are meant to be looked at, and chances are, those words that are repeated are central to the story.  Both Mark and Luke want the reader to connect these two stories - the one about the widow who gives everything and the teacher of the Law who steals from widows.  

Out of poverty, the widow gave everything she had to the temple, which means she gave everything she had to those who lived from the tithes and offerings, which means she gave everything she had to the teachers of the Law, for the teachers of the Law lived off of the donations of the people who tithed just as pastors do today.  

Note that the Law did give permission for the priests to live on the sacrifices and tithes of the people who worshiped - this was proper; but because of greed, entitlement, corruption, and injustice; the poor were losing more and more while the priests and teachers of the Law lived “high on the hog.”  Jesus saw this injustice and this disparity and he addressed those who lived in the riches from giving widows.

So how did these teachers of the Law steal from widows?  Indirectly, they stole from them by living in wealth while those who donated to their grand lifestyle lived in poverty.

When modern preachers and teachers justify their wealth by saying that God wants us to prosper, chances are, they are living off of the gifts and tithes of those who are losing their homes, who live paycheck to paycheck, and whose families are falling apart because of insufficient income.

Is this the kind of prosperity that God would be pleased with?  Preachers who take tithes and offerings and who live in prosperity are just like the teachers of the Law in Jesus' day who, as Jesus worded it, entered into the widows' houses and took all they want.  Today's preachers do the same.