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A few weeks ago the Ridge held our annual Single Parent Car Winterization where we serviced over 75 vehicles and ministered to parents and kids while they patiently waited for the Ridge Pit Crew to change their oil, top-off the fluids and replace burned out bulbs. As if that wasn’t cool enough, the Ridge youth jumped into action by vacuuming the carpets and cleaning their windows.
Now the job of vacuuming a vehicle’s carpets is no easy chore especially if it’s like my car. You never know what you’ll find lurking in the shadows under the seats, Cheerios, pre-chewed gum or a french fry from McDonalds that looks almost as good as the day you bought it two years ago. Thus a good shop-vac is must! So I was more than happy to lend the youth a couple I had in my garage.
Upon their return I decide to empty the contents in the trash can on the side on our house. As I opened the first vacuum I discover hair, dirt and lots of it, pony tail holders, candy wrappers, the tops of pens and several other unidentifiable objects that would make most people a bit squeamish. As I looked closer I noticed something dark brown buried in the debris. Did I dare stick my hand in the toxic waste, where was hand sanitizer? I chose to risk my life and plunged in. The object that caught my eye was a penny, not a very shinning or clean penny, but a penny none the less. As I continued to use my fingers to flick through the dirt and hair I started to discover more and more pennies along with an occasion silver coin.
As I was searching for more pennies I started wondering why so many people seem to discard them like trash. After sorting through all the junk in both vacuum containers I found 42 pennies, 8 dimes and 1 nickel. Not a single quarter! Why is that? Why don’t people throw them away? Is it because their bigger? Maybe, but my guess is it has to do the value we assign to them. We can get more stuff with a quarter, better candy from the old style gum ball machine, or with a turn of knob a cool rubber ball. I remember when a few pennies went a long way at the baseball park concession stand, but somehow they’ve lost their value to many of us. The maker of these little gems, the US Mint still values them, so much so they keep making new ones all the time. I don’t know about you but I pick up every penny I see on the ground. I don’t care how dirty it is, how scratched up it may be or discolored, it still has the same value as the day it was made.
Sadly this same type attitude can creep into our hearts and minds when it comes to the people around us. We assign a value to them; it could be based on how much money they make, how they talk, where they live or how they’re dressed. We ask ourselves what I can get by being their friend, how will they increase my net worth. Other times just like with the pennies, we decide certain people are too scarred up and aren’t worth the trouble. So we ignore them and discard them like all those unwanted pennies I found. What we fail to realize is that we are far more value to our Maker then the penny is to the US Mint. He looks past the all the stains, crud and imperfections. He sees our true value, so much so that He not only reaches down into the dirt to find us, but gave His life to save us.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matt 10:29-31
“The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” Gal 5:14
So the next time you look at a penny, I encourage you to think about how much Jesus values you and how much He wants us to see the true worth of others, your life will be richer for it.
Pastor Rollie
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Pastor Rollie, what no mention of the widow’s mites?
For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on. (LK 21)
Perhaps our wrong understanding of the value of things and other people stems from our lack in the right understanding of ourselves –a position of total poverty.
We have nothing to give to God, but our all.
Comment by Ken November 13, 2011 @ 2:33 pm…when did we give you a drink? …as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.(MT 25)