Bare shelves and sacrifice

My friends Janet and Jonathan passed on this story from the New York Times about bare cupboards at food banks.  An accompanying slideshow is here.  The article notes a scarcity of food at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, in Winston, which supplies many local food pantries and aid programs, including the NightWatch street outreach ministry.

NightWatch gets snack foods from Second Harvest.  We distribute snack bags and hygiene bags to homeless people during our Friday night street outreach.   Lately, the shelves at Second Harvest have been a little empty.  And so have our NightWatch supplies.

Requests for food and financial assistance are up everywhere — and donations are down.  I worry that there is less compassion for our hungry and homeless friends these days, as people are worrying about their own needs, and the needs of their families.  I believe that God will bless us as we continue to bless others, but I think that’s a hard sell sometimes when people are fearful.  It seems that it’s easier to give out of abundance.  It makes me think of the story of the widow’s offering:

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-43)

Are we really giving if we aren’t sacrificing?