Chump Change

In many of my sermons, books and speeches I talk about some of the people that I grew up with. Over the years I have talked about Fuzzy, Red, Tadpole, and even my dog Rex.

When I was in Chicago last month for my cousin’s funeral, Tadpole and I were talking about some of our old friends. During our conversation, we started talking about Chucky. I’ve known Chucky all of my life. We went to the same school, played the on the same sports teams, and fought together when gangs tried to takeover our neighborhood.

There was something else that I remember about Chucky. He was cheap. When we were teenagers, my friends and I would sometimes put our money together and buy beer or wine. All of us would chip in a dollar. But when it came to Chucky, all he would ever put in was a quarter. We would get mad and tell him he had to come up with some more money. But he would always say, “Sorry y’all, but all I’ve got is some chump change.”

We knew that Chucky had some money. After all, he received an allowance just like the rest of us. But whenever we were putting our money together to buy anything, all Chucky would ever come up with was some chump change.

In case you don’t know what chump change is, it is money that you don’t need. It is money that you can afford to throw away. It is what you have left after you have bought everything you want. It is what you give to the men and women that are on the street corners begging for spare change so they can get something to eat. It is also what many of us give to God every Sunday morning. Chump Change.

Oh yeah, we give God our leftovers. We furnish our beautiful homes, drive our expensive cars, and wear our designer clothes with our finest jewelry. We buy the best of everything for our children and go to the malls and shop till we drop. Then we go to church on Sunday morning and give God our chump change.
It is not only with our finances that we short change God. We give Him our chump change in other areas as well: our time, our talents, our worship and our praise. God loves us too much to give us His chump change. He gave us His best.
Are you giving God your best? Or are you just giving Him your chump change?

AUDIO: "Chump Change"

- Rev. Burton Barr, Jr. (Author of The Hoodlum Preacher & Amazing Grace: The Storm Is Passing Over.)

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