1The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
2Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.”
3Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
5She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
This is a good story for givers – especially for those who think there is only one way to give. I meet many people who are trying to mimic someone else’s style and there are many styles of giving. The Bible is full of different examples of people who gave but in different ways. Some were anonymous – but not all. Some were extravagant – but not all. All of us have a particular style and this morning we are going to look at a style that fits more with what I would call the entrepreneurial style. This kind of giver sees a new way of doing something, gets others involved and creates value where there was none before.
First, the woman takes the initiative. She does not wait for Elisha to notice her. She calls out to him. She reminds us of the insistent faith of the widow and the wicked judge or the woman who asks for crumbs from the table where Jesus is eating or the woman who reaches out and touches his robe. These women are not content to suffer silently or to wait for circumstances to change. They are not passive or fatalistic. They want their circumstances to change and are willing to step out and ask.
Second, too often the poor are misrepresented as bad people. In fact, many of us have come to see poor people as a problem to be fixed. It’s certainly true that many people who are poor only dig themselves deeper with bad decisions and choices. However, it is also true that many are good people in bad situations they did not create. What are her circumstances? Whose fault is it she is in such a bind?
She is the widow of a prophet and it was his decisions that left her at risk. It’s still true today that many men through their own ignorance or stupidity leave their wives and children unprepared for life without them. He was a prophet – but heavily in debt. She had no options and no protector – not even the other prophets. Clearly, the creditor was a powerful man and no one was willing to stand up for her. Even in a small community where she was no doubt well known there was no one who could or would help. Many of the “working poor” today are in the same situation. They are women with children and no father. In “The Working Poor”, David Shipler writes half of all poor families are headed by single women and many of these women were sexually abused as children. A visit to any Christian Women’s Job Corps would give you a chilling picture of how vulnerable these women are. They are at women who have been at the mercy of men their whole lives. Without a protector or several protectors they sink to the bottom.
“It’s the little traps and trips that foil those at the bottom. When you have no bank account, no car, no health insurance, it inverts the slogan of that best-selling self-help book: You have to sweat the small stuff. A modest mishap to someone who can land on a cushion of nominal security can land a poor person on the pavement, often literally. Caroline Payne, with a two-year associate’s degree and no teeth, can’t afford dentures. No one wants to hire her. When she finally gets a job in a Procter & Gamble factory, all is almost lost when the plant’s rotating shift policy leaves her unable to care for her daughter one week every month. A friend steps up; her job is saved. In the book’s last section, Kara King is fighting cancer. Her husband, Tom, has no car to the drive the two hours to a Boston hospital for visits. It’s crushing to read. When a local car dealer gives him a loaner it feels like the healing of the world. The working poor — that enormous cohort — are easily outnumbered by America’s broad middle class. Most experts agree: lifting a poor worker to the uplands of self-sufficiency takes a concerted, many-pronged effort. In that mix, invariably, must be someone willing to lend a hand, to make even a little sacrifice.”
Third, instead of fixing her or lecturing her he says the most interesting thing. “What do you have in your house?” He totally changes the direction we think he would be headed. I’ve been on many trips with well-intentioned people and their first assumption is the poor have nothing at all. That being the case, we need to give them what they need. They are helpless and we bring help. I can tell you from experience it is not true. Except in the most drastic poverty like you see in refugee camps or after genocide, people have something. As harsh as it sounds, the worst thing we can do is assume they have nothing unless we provide it. Elisha starts with what she has and not with what she lacks. So he asks her to think about what little she has. Then, he surprises us again. There is no sermon or lecture about debt but a simple question to himself. “How can I help?” What do I have in my hand? It’s not in the text but I know it was in his mind!
Fourth, his solution involves her neighbors – probably the whole village. These were all the people who felt they could do nothing and were unable to protect her from her creditor or help her. Poverty – and often wealth – isolates people from each other. It’s shameful and you don’t want others to know – especially if your husband was a prophet. I think this was probably the hardest part for her. She had to go door to door with her children and ask each household for something. However, the irony is it gave them something to contribute where before they thought they had nothing. Even if it was an empty jar – it was still something. They become part of the solution.
Finally, she has all she needs after paying her debts. There is no goose that continues to lay golden eggs or a continual subsidy. She has produced something and sold it. As many of you know, this is the basis of what is called microfinance. People take out very small loans to start very small businesses selling a product or a service. They repay the loan, take out another loan to grow the business, repay that from the profits and their lives are changed. Organizations like HOPE International and Opportunity International have created millions of small loans to enable the poor to create simple businesses. In the process, they create respect, hope, a sense of future and create a powerful example for the entire village.
This story is not about microfinance or business creation. It’s not about solving poverty or encouraging men to be careful about taking on debt. It’s about God’s miraculous provision through an innovative man of God who left a poor widow capable of taking care of her children and herself – and a community who had the joy of giving.