These days a penny seems almost worthless, and there’s lots of talk about going to a cashless society. When you can so easily flash a credit or debit card, having them jingling in your pocket makes hardly any cents—and some would say hardly any sense. But there is one simple reason why a penny could still have big value for you.

Are you guessing that I might be talking about collecting them in a big jar, taking it to the automatic counting machine at your supermarket, and then turning it in as a donation to your favorite charity?

That would be a thought surely worth assent!

But no, I’m talking about a reason why I will still zealously stoop down to pick up a penny every time I see one on the ground. Dingy or shiny, it’s well worth the effort.

Because it will inspire me to read the four foundational words above President Abraham Lincoln’s head: "IN GOD WE TRUST."

The just shall live by faith and a good definition of faith is relaxed trust in God. In the Old Testament the concept of faith was translated “trust” (Hebrew batach) in 154 places.

Spotting a penny a day and reading its inscription reminds me that God “mint” us to have relaxed trust in Him.