When Otha Anders found his first penny on the ground more than 45 years ago, he decided to save it. The coin reminds him to pray and give thanks. In the late 1960s, Otha Anders began collecting pennies. When he discovered a penny on the ground, his habit was born. This small event paved the way for Anders to spend the next four decades looking for pennies, whether they were found on the ground or collected after a trip to the grocers.
“If I would see a penny when on the ground, in the hallway, on the floor, or anywhere, I would automatically and invariably say a prayer of thanks and I’d say, well this is God’s way of reminding me that I should always be thankful,” he would say.
“I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful,” said Anders, 73. “There have been days where I failed to pray and more often than not, a lost or dropped penny would show up to remind me.”
Fifteen five-gallon plastic water jugs contained over half a million pennies. Anders collected $5,136.14. He used the money for a recent dental bill. Anders said his penny pile grew after that first coin, and he eventually stopped spending pennies and made sure his change always contained at least three to four pennies whenever he made a purchase.
When he cashed the pennies, the bank Vice President Jennie Cole said that it really made the day for the bank. “We value his business, as we do all of our customers,” she said. “But if we can help Anders with his endeavors, we are happy to do so.”
Anders, who worked for the Jackson School Board as a supervisor for in-school suspended children, said his students learned about his penny obsession and would save them up to sell to him. “But I never allowed anyone, not even my wife nor children, to give me pennies without being compensated,” he said. “I wanted the inner satisfaction that God and I acquired this collection.”
Anders said he enjoys looking at his penny collection so much that he refused to cash in his collection in the 1970s when the US government offered a $25 bonus for every $100 worth of pennies turned in.
The Apostle Paul taught us to save money in a way so that when it comes to giving, we will not have a hard time giving to those in need. He said that we must give in keeping with incomes. Saving for a rainy day is indeed a practical way of making life more convenient.
But ultimately, if we want to save, we must store up treasures in heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.