Old Penny

In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel" (Psalm 76:1).

Then there's the good ole USA: In America, God is forgotten; His name is a distant memory in the land of the free.

An old penny now symbolizes where we are as a nation. Lincoln's profile is worn down so that it is indiscernible. "In God We Trust" is a faded and illegible inscription. The value of the penny is a mere fraction of its former self. Oh, how we resemble that penny.

Our nation is crippled with ancestral alzheimers. We don't remember what our forefathers once taught, believed, and practiced. They forged the framework of this nation on the basis of faith and freedom under God.

Efforts are now under way to remove "In God We Trust" from our currency. If those four words were there to describe our current condition, then they should be removed. We don't trust in God. Yet they should stay on our currency as a constant reminder of the course to which this nation should humbly return.

Like the penny, we are but a fraction of our former greatness. This, of course, depends on your definition of greatness. My definition of greatness places integrity at the top. I get the feeling I'm in the minority.

Anything goes today. And integrity seems to be the first thing to go in every relationship, every transaction, and every decision.

We have placed too much emphasis on the first two letters of USA. In us we trust. But God is not an ancient penny nor an ancient memory. What we think of God doesn't change the reality or magnanimous essence of His existence and authority. You can be on an airplane and choose not to believe there's a pilot, but it doesn't change the reality inside the cockpit.

Whether we live it or not -- whether we like it or not -- God "ought to be feared" (v. 11).

The lit match shouldn't brag of it's flame to the sun. The minnow best be careful challenging the whale.

Penny full of thoughts,
Perry Crisp