Good Stewardship! Aren’t we always guessing, hoping, wondering if we are being good stewards, following God’s mandate, yet never really knowing for sure? One thing became very true for me: a good steward treats all creation respectfully. Yes, even a penny!
Remember how the woman in Jesus’ parable, searches for her lost coin? Her search wasn’t for a wad of bills, a cache of jewels, or a boxed treasure of stored gold. Her search is for one single coin. She pulls out a broom, sweeps the house thoroughly. She lights a lamp, (oil costs!) to help her find her missing coin. When she finds it. Voila! She grabs the phone, now energized by her find, and calls her neighbors: “Hooray! I finally found my penny!”
What’s the lesson here? One biblical commentator offered: “The looking for that penny and the celebration may have cost her as much as the coin itself. But to her, it was worth it” It’s curious how yes, even a penny can mean so much. What is Jesus trying to tell us?
Here’s a modern twist on a penny that I caught on the internet. Horrified to see a very wealthy man on his walk with her picking up, more than once, a copper coin, Marion spoke up. “How can you take time to stoop for a simple penny.” Nonplused, the rich guy, took his time to look into her question and then turned to search her puzzled eyes:
“Dear woman, all my gifts have come from God. I want God to know that I really believe what it says on this penny: “In God I trust”.
Worldly wisdom would have the biblical poor woman too poor to make a difference and the rich man too rich to pay attention. I think Jesus honored both. Regardless of our preconceived ideas of either wealth or poverty, aren’t we all, as good stewards, enjoined to care and be grateful for the smallest of God’s gifts? Think about it.
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