Her small donation was a true widow's mite.
the widow's mite
idiomA small gift that represents a great sacrifice for the person who gives it.
Origin
The story is told in Mark 12:41–44 and again in Luke 21:1–4. Jesus watches wealthy people drop large sums into the temple treasury, then sees a poor widow put in two small copper coins — the mite of the King James translation — and says she has given more than all of them, because they gave from their surplus while she gave everything she had.
A mite was the smallest coin in circulation, so the whole point turns on how little it was worth in absolute terms and how much it cost her in proportion.
In English the widow's mite names a modest gift that means far more than its size suggests, because it is given at real sacrifice by someone with little to spare.
The pensioner's ten pounds was a widow's mite that moved the organisers more than any of the large cheques.
Among the corporate sponsorships listed in the programme was a single line noting an anonymous gift of five pounds — a widow's mite that the director quietly suspected had cost its giver more than all the rest combined.
The short stories Jesus told to make a point.
- 01
good Samaritan (idiom)
A person who helps someone in distress out of their own good nature.
- 02
the prodigal son (idiom)
Someone who returns, chastened and repentant, after a period of reckless or wasteful living.
- 03
the eleventh hour (idiom)
The very last possible moment before a deadline or a decisive event.
- 04
separate the wheat from the chaff (idiom)
To select only that which is of value.
- 05
a house built on sand (idiom)
A plan or venture with no solid foundation, liable to collapse under pressure.
- 06
a good and faithful servant (idiom)
Someone praised for loyal, diligent, and dependable service.