My sister Linda was six and a half. The "half" was very important at that age. I was four, and being the younger sister was at times very frustrating. I got the hand-me-downs. Linda got to start school, and I got left behind. And now, she had lost a tooth!
The whole family was going on and on about it. It was as though she had done something wonderful, when I knew perfectly well she had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Teeth got loose and fell out. Period. It didn't require courage or brains or any special talent; anyone the right age could do it. The problem was, I wasn't the right age yet. So, there I was, stewing over all the attention she was getting and becoming jealous that the tooth fairy would be making a trip to the very room I slept in, walking just a few feet from my bed, but ignoring me completely in the process.
Later that afternoon, I was combing my hair when I noticed a gap in the comb. An idea so brilliant began formulating in my little head, I could hardly wait to try it out. I deliberately broke another tooth out of the comb, right next to the hole that was already there. "See?" I showed it to my family proudly. "I lost a tooth! I'm going to put it under my pillow tonight, and the tooth fairy will have to come and see me, too!"
That night, two little girls were tucked into bed by a very wise and wonderful Mom. Just before saying our prayers, we very ceremoniously placed out lost teeth under our respective pillows. I was feeling rather triumphant. The tooth fairy would laugh at my little joke and then decide to reward me for my cleverness. Perhaps she'd be so caught off guard, wondering if this was indeed in her job description--since it was, after all, a tooth--that she wouls just leave me the money out of a sense of duty. I went to sleep, I'm sure, with a smug smile on my face.
The following morning, my sister and I both reached excitedly under our pillows. Her tooth was missing; so was mine. There were little boxes where the teeth had once been. Yes! The tooth fairy had come! Linda opened her box first...Four shiny quarters. Not bad! Next, I opened mine. It had four metal pieces of play money in it. The tooth fairy who came to our house was a smart-aleck!
We often try to fool God. We give Him our piety and self-righteousness and think He won't know the difference. We think as long as we show up at church on Sunday and do a couple of good deeds during the week, God will reward us in a mighty way. The problem is, when we deliberately offer up to God less than our best efforts, He cannot give us His finest rewards. Jeremiah 32:19 says, "You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings."
God wants our total surrender, not our contrivance. He expects us to be good stewards of the blessings and talents He has given us. If we offer any part of ourselves to God, it must be to honor Him, not to take advantage of His generous nature. Will God be honored by what you give Him today?
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