Lincoln Only Wants Pennies & That’s Just Fine

Lincoln is one of our pastors’ kids. He’s three years old and stinkin’ cute.

The other day I heard him say in a concerned voice, “Where’s my pennies?” His mom helped him find his little penny collection and Lincoln quickly stuffed them in his front pocket with a pleased look on his face.

Watching the whole exchange, I thought, “That’s fun. Lincoln must be learning about money and wants to make sure he’s carrying some with him all the time. Cute – he’s participating in the economy.”

I decided to give him some pennies to add to his collection – so I went to my office in search of spare change. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any pennies; only nickels and dimes and quarters. So I grabbed a handful and went looking for Lincoln.

By this time, his mom had loaded him up in the car and they were getting ready to leave. I told her, “I couldn’t find pennies. But I have bigger coins. Does he like those too?”

Stacey laughed, “That’s nice. But no – it’s only pennies. He’s not interested in any other coins for some reason. Thank you though.”

Since that day, I keep thinking about Lincoln and his pennies. Maybe he likes pennies because of their unique color. Or maybe it’s because there’s a dude named Lincoln on one side of them.

But whatever the reason, three year old Lincoln Jones only wants pennies… and that’s just fine.

Someday he’ll want bigger coins and paper bills. I’m sure of it. So there’s no need to rush that day. No need to correct Lincoln and tell him how dumb it was to pass up free money. No need to critique his obsession with pennies.

Actually, it’s refreshing. The joy he has over a few pennies in his pocket… well, I wish I was more like Lincoln.

The kid has pennies – US coins in his possession. At three years old, he’s participating in the economy. I wonder if he lets his mom borrow a penny or two when she goes through the McDonald’s drive thru?

I sometimes (meaning often) find the label “Christian” to be unhelpful. We quickly go to a checklist in our minds to determine if something or someone meets the (perhaps arbitrary) criteria to qualify as Christian.

We roll our eyes when the rap star thanks his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” while accepting an award. Why? Because he can’t be a Christian. Not enough boxes checked on the criteria list.

All this determining of who is in and who is out, what is Christian and what is not, is of no interest to me.

I don’t even want to use the term “Christian” most of the time because it’s a loaded word.

Lately, I’ve been thinking in terms of “Participating in the Kingdom” instead of “Christian.” I’m less interested in trying to critique things and people based on a checklist of “Christian” criteria, and I’m more interested in asking the simple question, “Are they participating in the Kingdom?”

Little Lincoln Jones doesn’t have a steady job. Not yet anyway. He isn’t spending much. Not for now. That day will come, I’m sure of it. But he has pennies. Real, authentic, US Treasury minted cents. He’s participating in the economy.

Lincoln only wants pennies, and that’s just fine.

The same thing is true for people participating in the Kingdom of God. They will grow. They will develop a hunger for more than just the basics. They will eventually appreciate the deeper, heavier, more challenging things.

But until that day comes, let’s smile and share in their joy – because, just like with Lincoln, it’s refreshing and precious and there’s no need to hurry things along.