Jehovah furnishes the best example of giving, for he has bestowed upon humanity “life and breath and all things” (Ac 17:25), he has given his only-begotten Son for mankind (Joh 3:16), and he enriches Christians for every sort of generosity (2Co 9:10-15). Indeed, “every good gift and every perfect present is from above, for it comes down from the Father of the celestial lights.”​—Jas 1:17; see GIFTS, PRESENTS.

See also HOLY CONTRIBUTION.

The size of a contribution does not necessarily give a true picture of the giver’s generosity. Once Jesus Christ watched as persons deposited money in the temple’s treasury chests. Rich individuals dropped in many coins, but Jesus was impressed with the wholehearted generosity of a needy widow who dropped in only two small coins of very little value, saying: “This widow, although poor, dropped in more than they all did. For all these dropped in gifts out of their surplus, but this woman out of her want dropped in all the means of living she had.” (Lu 21:1-4; Mr 12:41-44) When it came to making contributions to aid poor fellow believers, Paul observed: “If the readiness is there first, it is especially acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what a person does not have.”​—2Co 8:12.