Recently, Mark Zuckerburg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, gave $25 million dollars to help with the healthcare crisis that is emerging with the continued spread of the Ebola virus. This is a terrific gift and will help many people as we all struggle to comprehend the horror and pace of this disease. With Zuckerberg’s net worth pegged at 33.3 billion dollars, this means that he gave away approximately 0.075% of his net worth. If your net worth happened to be $500,000 and you gave away 0.075% of your net worth, you would give $375. That helps me put it in perspective. It makes me realize that every gift counts.
Jesus taught this principle to his disciples. He watched both the rich and the poor as they gave their gifts to the temple treasury in Jerusalem. Some gifts were large amounts of money but one gift was two small coins from a poor widow. Jesus praised the widow for her sacrificial gift and pointed out that she had given more than the rest. So, even when we know how much people have given, we may not know the value of their gift, and we may not know which person has given the most.
Currently, my wife and I own our home, two cars, a small amount of money set aside for retirement, an assortment of things, and only a few debts. I wonder what our net worth might be. Perhaps I could challenge you to consider your own net worth as I consider ours. What might it look like if we gave away 0.075% of that net worth?