Once there was a little girl who worried about a very big problem—world hunger. She read in the newspaper about children all over the world who did not have enough to eat. She wanted to do something about it, but she was only a little girl and this was a giant problem. What could she possibly do that would make a difference?
One day, when she was feeling sad about the situation, she told her father what was on her mind. After listening to her problem, he was very quiet. Then he scratched his head and rubbed his chin. He cleaned his glasses with a handkerchief and then he said, “Young lady, maybe it’s time I told you a story,” and began to tell her about David and Goliath.
David was a little boy who had a very big problem—Goliath. David lived in a land called Israel and the Philistine soldiers were threatening to invade his country. The very biggest Philistine soldier was named Goliath who told the people of Israel, “If you can find one person who can beat me in a fight, then we will not invade your country.”
But there was no one in all of Israel who thought they could beat Goliath. “He is much too tall and strong,” the people said. “This problem is just too big for us. There is nothing we can do about it.”
David was surprised that no one would fight Goliath, so he went to the King of Israel and told him, “I will fight Goliath.”
The king looked down at the boy. He did not want to send such a small fellow to fight such a big man. Because no one else had volunteered, he said to David, “I admire your courage, young man. I will give you the best armor in my kingdom.”
But when David put on the armor, he fell straight down to the ground. After all, David was just a little guy and the armor was very heavy.
And so David said, “Thanks, but no thanks . . . I think I’ll just use my sling.”
The king was surprised by the boy’s courage and he said, “Go forth and may God be with you.”
David went out onto the battlefield and, facing Goliath, he said, “I am ready to fight.”
When Goliath saw this little guy standing before him he began to laugh. “You are only a boy!” he chuckled, and then he began to roar with laughter. While Goliath was laughing David put a rock in his sling, twirled it around, and let the rock fly. The rock hit Goliath in the head and the giant came crashing to the ground. David was a hero.
“That’s a great story, Dad,” said the little girl, “but what does it have to do with me?”
“David lived a long time ago,” said her father, “but the world still has giant problems—hunger, pollution, wars. We can do something about it.” He got up from his chair and walked over to the couch and began tossing cushions everywhere.
“Dad, what in the world are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m looking for spare change. You know how it always falls down in the cushions.”
“But why do you want spare change?”
“I’m putting all my spare change into a box and I’m going to give that money to a charity that helps feed the hungry.”
“But what difference will that make?” asked the girl.
“Well, see for yourself,” he said and he lifted up the cushions. What she saw gave her a surprise. Scattered underneath the cushions were dozens of coins, and how they shined and glimmered.
“Wow!” she said, “I never realized how much money was in our couch.”
“It can add up,” said her father. “The world has a giant problem and too few think to throw stones that are close at hand. These coins could feed many or save a child’s life. And if everyone used their coins to fight hunger, then we might just throw the stone that would send this giant problem crashing to the ground.”
The little girl smiled and then she got down on her knees. Together, father and daughter gathered coins from underneath the cushions.