What do you do if you see a penny lying on the ground? Do you stop and pick it up, or do you think it is not worth your time and effort to retrieve it? When I see one, I stop and pick it up. At home, I keep a jar for my change, so my new find gets added to it. Once the container becomes full, I cash in the coins. I then use that money on my mission trips.
A Penny Lesson
What denomination of currency would you stop and pick up, a dime, a quarter, or only if it were folding money? Here in the U.S.A., our wealth compared to the rest of the world, allows us the luxury of overlooking coins lying on the ground. Many poor in the world live on less than $1.25 per day. A few pennies might make a big difference for them.
Today, as I stooped to pick up another penny, I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me. The Bible verse that He brought to my mind came from Luke 16:10. The verse says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Whoa, what? How can a penny relate to my faith? Is there a penny lesson to this verse? Let’s dig a little deeper.
The Parable
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the Faithful Servants. In the story, a man leaves on a long trip, and he entrusts his servants with his silver coins. He gave one man five bags, another two bags, and the last man one bag of money. Upon the master’s return, the first two men invested the money and doubled the amount in their charge. The remaining man buried the money and returned only one bag to his master. Calling that servant wicked and lazy, the master sent him away. The master expected him to at least earn interest during the absence. The moral of the story is found in verse 29; “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.”
Let’s reexamine the penny we see lying on the ground. The coin might seem insignificant since it won’t buy anything in today’s society. But, I wonder if God is watching to see if He can trust us with a penny before He trusts us with bigger things? How can we show God we can be trusted with the small stuff? Collecting the pennies might be a good starting point. Save them up to help someone in need, throw them into a tip jar, or put them in the offering plate at church. Small beginnings can lead to bigger things for the glory of God. As the name of the movie from the 1930s implies, maybe these are pennies from heaven.
The Faithful Servant
If we are faithful, maybe we will hear God whisper these words to us; Matthew 25:23, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”
Blessings,
Yvonne M Morgan, #Blogger, #Speaker, #Writer
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
100% of the proceeds from sales of my book, Turning Mountains Into Molehills, go to help the orphans at Orphan Relief Effort, Inc
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Thank you for the reminder to appreciate the blessings we have and to not despise small things.
Thanks Ava. I appreciate your thoughts. God bless.
Such a great reminder to appreciate everything, especially the small stuff!
When I see coins on the ground, I leave them for someone else to find. What a great reminder to appreciate the small things in life, even a few coins. 🙂
That is a good idea too. Thanks Melissa, I appreciate you visiting. God bless.
I appreciate you visiting and commenting Julie. The small things are very important. God bless
Amen! I love your line, “Small beginnings can lead to bigger things for the glory of God.” I agree totally.
Thanks Jessica. I really think it is very important to take care of the small things. God bless
This is a BIG lesson about small things that can be a huge impact in the lives of others. Thank you for this profound teaching on the simple act of picking up a penny. It’s amazing, in this country many people would consider that beneath them, while in other countries people would be treasuring that penny. Lord have mercy on us and enlarge our hearts to share our wealth!
Amen Melissa. God teaches us so many lessons through the small things in life, if we pay attention. God bless.
God reminds me of this parable whenever I feel as if my work is too small to make a difference. He reminds me I need to be trustworthy and faithful with what He’s given me, no matter how small. Thanks for this reminder!
Very welcome Emily. Thank you for visiting and commenting. God bless
We put our found coins in a jar that goes to our local pregnancy crisis center. Each year, we take in the heavy weight of found money, entrust it into God’s hands, and pass it on to help babies and mommas in crisis. My husband witnesses the lives of those who live on $1.25 a day each time he goes to India. He is always deeply moved and ends up emptying his pockets and leaving behind possessions. No small coin or given away item is ever wasted when used to help others.
Amen Melinda. Such truth. Thanks for visiting and God bless.
I LOVE this! My son and I started a special jar for when we find pennies on the ground. I’m going to save them from now (he’s 4) until he goes to college so he can see the value in them. I’m going to print out this post to put with it now when he graduates ❤️❤️❤️
Awww, I feel special. That is such a cool lesson to teach him. I pray her learns this lesson and remembers it always. Thanks and God bless.
Love your post Sister so many great nuggets in it. Pennies make dollars my Dad used to say!
Yes they do, great saying. Thanks and God bless
Yvonne, a great reminder that we need to be attentive and watchful to evert aspect of our lives, big and small. We are called to steward and be responsible for it all. And in the end, the small things do add up and they reflect how committed we are to God’s call. I think another example about the “small” things, but big things, is when I am on my daily walks and I see some garbage on the ground that someone has carelessly thrown away. I used to ignore it, thinking it wasn’t my problem and no one was watching, but now I think about how God is watching and wondering whether I will I pick it up and care for his environment.
Great job Anne. That is another good way we can be God’s hands in the small things. I will start to pick up trash too. Thanks for sharing and God bless
Great analogy, Yvonne. God wants to know He can entrust us everything that comes our way…which is all from Him. I like the lesson and truth in this story, but also reminded me of the widow who gave all she had and Jesus noted how great her giving was compared to the rich putting in large amounts into the offering just for others to see. Many think the amount was the smallest roman coin and like 2 cents.
Another great example of how God looks at how we treat the small things before entrusting us with the bigger things. Thanks for visiting and commenting. God bless.