SPARK: 'The Last Thing He Gave Was His Money'

I don’t think there’s a more well-known story in scripture than the parable of the good Samaritan. It’s familiar to folks who go to church every Sunday, those who drop in occasionally, and even people who haven’t set foot in a sanctuary in years. For many, it brings up warm thoughts about being kind to others. For others, it’s a powerful story about breaking down prejudice and showing compassion to those who might not do the same for you.

It never struck me as a story about stewardship—until recently.

At a stewardship event last month, I heard a clergy colleague share her testimony of growing in faith and generosity. As part of her story, she described the Samaritan who stopped to help the beaten man on the side of the road. He bandaged the wounds, lifted the man up, and took him to an inn to rest and recover.

Then she said something that got stuck in my brain like a song you can’t stop humming:

“Money was the last thing he gave.”

At first, I bristled. Why would you say something like that in a talk about generosity?

But then it hit me.

Stopping to help was the hard part. Getting down in the dirt, kneeling beside someone else’s pain, lifting him carefully—that took time, courage, and compassion. It took faith that someone at the inn would care for the man. Compared to all that, handing over some money was probably the easiest thing he did.

In the church, we can get so focused on money. When we have enough, we breathe easier. When giving is down, anxiety creeps in. But if we measure generosity only by dollars, we miss the powerful witness of those who offer their time, their strength, their presence, and their hands. And then they give their money, too.

Jesus said it plainly: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 NRSV).

What if this summer we look around and celebrate those folks who don’t walk past? The ones who stop, stoop, serve, and give. The ones who make Christ’s love real in compassion and action, long before they reach for their wallets.

After all, money was the last thing he gave.