Do you pick up pennies? A survey asked just that question. The results? Older people were more likely than “20 - something’s” to pick up pennies. Some would only pick them up if no one was looking. Others couldn’t even be bothered if it was anything less than a dime.
I am an avowed “penny picker-upper.” I will almost always stop and pick up pennies; and nickels, dimes and quarters if I find them. It hasn’t made me rich. I’d be surprised if I have found more than $30 in change in the past 10 years. So why do I it? I really don’t know. I could probably come up with something that sounds noble, but I suppose it’s just because a penny is worth something and it’s just being wasted there on the ground.
My mother-in-law Oleta told Leisa and me of her involvement with a woman who has had a very hard life. Some of the things she shared about her life just make you want to cry. Oleta and this woman were talking about her relationship to God and with His church when she made a remark that really got my attention. Commenting about a church she had visited, she said, “You know those people over there wouldn’t bother to pick up a penny. They are only interested in twenty-dollar bills. They just step right over a penny. And you know, I’m just a penny.”
I really hate to hear comments like that. I hate to hear that people have such a low opinion of themselves that they believe they are worthless. And I hate to hear that people have such a low opinion of the church that they believe there is no place for them there. Neither is true, even though there might be enough negative experiences to make you think so.
My hope and prayer is that this woman will be loved and helped by the church where she is and finally find the peace that only Christ can give.
I have another hope and prayer, and that is that our churches will be known as a churches willing to stop and “pick-up pennies.” There are people all around us who are different than we are. Those differences might be racial, cultural, economical, or political. There might be age differences or gender differences, they could show up simply as the differences in talents a person might or might not possess. There could be countless ways someone might be different than me, and therefore tempted to consider them just a penny. But I hope that it will never be said of us, that we are only interested in twenty-dollar bills.
Jesus told us that when we give a dinner party we should not just invite those who have the means to return the favor, but rather we should invite those who have no way to give anything back to us. (Luke 14:12-14) Jesus said when we do this then the one whose blessings really count will bless us; His Father.
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