November 14, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, November 14.
Do you use pennies? Earlier this week I shared a devotion about the phrase “In God We Trust” appearing on all U.S. currency, and mentioned that, in this generation, we could see the development of a completely cashless society. I still like to use cash. Oh, I use a debit card and credit cards and regularly transfer funds electronically, but there’s just something old school about using bills and coins. And I’m a big fan of old school. I also think that using real money reduces my spending. If I just swipe a card, it’s easy to lose focus on just how much I’m spending, but when I open my wallet, it’s all too clear.
Having said all this, I have to admit that there is one feature of real money that I do not use - pennies. I hate to say it, but I throw them away. My father would hate to hear that. But, honestly, what can you buy with a penny? In my dad’s day there was penny candy and penny whistles and “a penny for your thoughts”. Today it costs the U.S. Mint two cents to make a single penny. We’re losing money on our money! Well, all this money talk has reminded me of a famous New Testament story - The Widow’s Mite.
The first century Jerusalem temple had three courts. There was the Court of the Gentiles. That was as far as non-Jews could go. There was the Court of Women. That was as far as women could go. And then there was the Inner Court where sacrifices were offered to God. The women’s court was not exclusively for women, and, in fact, Jewish men had to go there to put money in the temple “treasury” - a series of receptacles for tithes and special offerings. One day, Jesus was seated in the Court of Women and was watching the parade of givers. He noticed many wealthy Jews making a grand show of their “generosity”. And then he saw a widow who slowly approached and placed two tiny coins in the treasury.
The King James Bible was published in 1615, and the smallest coin in England at that time was called a mite. The first century widow would have given a small coin called a lepton - a Greek word that means small. And so what do we take from this Bible story? Is it an encouragement of generosity? Of course. But it’s also a lesson in sacrifice. The rich people that Christ saw that day gave many, many times the amount that the widow gave, but at no real cost to themselves. The New Testament tells us that she gave “all that she had”. That’s sacrifice. She gave not for show, but from her heart, a heart of love and obedience and thankfulness.
The smallest coin in my collection is a mite. I treasure it above all the others, and I’ll never throw it away.
Meet you back here on Monday,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
