TRIPPING OVER PENNIES

Ever see an old man bend over to pick up a penny. And you think to yourself, “Poor old guy, probably needs every cent he can find.” Only to find out later that the old guy is rich!

I’ve just described my father.

There he’d be, wobbling in the parking lot, risking a broken hip, stooping over to grab a penny. Many a time I’ve yelled to him, “Dad! Leave it there for a little kid to find!”

My dad also had a thing for sugar packets. At every Dunkin’ Donuts he went to, he’d leave with 10 sugar packets stuffed in his shirt pocket. And then there were the plastic grocery bags. You know the ones – the eyesores that decorate all the trees in the city. Whenever he went to Giant, he had the cashier add in another 5 bags (pooper-scooper bags).

It seemed crazy to me that a man who was financially well-off would go to such extremes for such little things. Pennies. Sugar packets. Plastic bags. These little things consumed his mind, especially towards the end of his 2-year battle with cancer.

It’s almost as if he forgot that his bank account was full.

It reminds me of a lot of people today in – and out, or on their way out – of church.

I think we sometimes forget how rich in Christ we are. To hear the complaints of the average church goer (and although I hate to say it), in America especially -- can be shocking!

Just what is it you don’t like?

The music? Carpet? Curtains? Pastor’s wife? Parking lot? Youth leader?

Did someone, at some point and time, offend you? Have you decided, that unlike Christ who bore the offenses of all the world, that YOU should never be offended? (Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, Galations 3:13 NIV).

Did you discover, God forbid, that someone in your church, or dare it be said, someone in church leadership was a sinner! (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 NIV).

Has your family, or your ministerial ‘gift’ become so important to you that it has become your Holy Grail, and as such, can never—ever—be challenged in anyway by anybody? (For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:24. NIV). And if someone does poke a little at your treasure, you’re swiping right at the speed of light to find the next church on your list.

You are tripping over pennies and forgetting that your bank account is full.

I’m not saying we don’t have problems in the church, or that we should pretend nothing ever goes wrong. We are, after all, a gathering of sinners with varying degrees of maturity and plenty of doctrinal differences between us. But … there is a time and place to talk, ask, complain, and explain about our differences and problems. And, more importantly, there is a way to do it. In prayer, first, then in humility.

Whenever I am tempted to let loose and give my emotions permission to rage over a situation or over someone’s behavior, I try to remind myself – before it’s too late – of 2 things.

Not all problems are equal. What are considered problems here in the land of the free and the brave is almost laughable in other parts of the world. I think the terms “1st world problems” or champagne problems” are appropriate. You don’t like how the (volunteer) Sunday School teacher spoke to your daughter. In some parts of the world there are no Sunday Schools and your daughter may never receive any education. Your music program is too fast or too slow? In some countries believers must sneak into the woods and whisper their praise to God. See? Not equal. If you feel you need to speak up about a problem, or a person, then go ahead, but keep things in perspective, and remember, prayer and humility.

How much has Jesus done for me and how far has He gone to save me. I often think of the verse: How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? (Hebrews 2:3 NIV) What has the Lord left undone? NOTHING! What did He forget when He laid out the plan of salvation? NOTHING!

The salvation of God is complete and perfect. The blood of Christ has paid the price for the sins of the whole world. This is a done deal. A Finished Work. God sees the believer, not in his sins, but as covered by the blood, and a joint heir with Christ.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6, NIV.

It’s a bit of a paradox. You are considered ‘perfect’ and God sees you as ‘seated above’ because of what Christ has done for you and in place of you, but you are still here in this world, in an earthly body, which is not perfect at all. Thankfully, God doesn’t rely on you to make yourself, or His plan, perfect. He did it all Himself at the cross. His plan for salvation is complete and perfect.

So … how will you escape if you neglect such a great salvation?

The Last Thought

When I am tempted to get all weird about details that go wrong, and personalities that rub me the wrong way, I remember that my God is great, and my problems are not. If your church preaches the Word of God, reaches out to the lost, and loves the brethren, then you have won the church trifecta. You are blessed and your spiritual bank account is full!

Looking for a church or in need of counseling? Go to: ggwo.org