May 28, 2007
-
Frugality with a Purpose
I find that there is a mindset I must fight against regularly when I’m in the ‘frugal mode’. It’s the selfish mindset of hoarding instead of blessing. When the money is ‘flowing’ it’s easy to give to the Lord’s work and to bless others but when the finances are challenged we can find that we are clutching every saved penny to our chest not knowing what may come up next.
While I must be wise in my giving I’m still commanded in scripture to be generous and to share with others who are in need. Sometimes I don’t feel like I have anything to give but that is because I live in America and I have the American mindset that there are certain things I can’t live without! Just think about how many things our generation view as a necessity compared the stay-at-home Mom who lived in the 50′s! Cell phones, more than one TV, chewing gum, mini-pad liners, going out to eat after church, a second car, more than one phone in our house, 3 or more bedrooms, more than one bathroom and a house that is over 1000 square feet… oh the list would go on forever. I wonder how much we could save if we just gave up one of our little luxuries and put it into a ‘giving’ account for the Lord’s work?
There is also the challenge of gift giving this time of year. This time of year there is a flood of graduations, wedding and baby showers and birthdays. I miss being able to give really nice gifts but for now it’s not the Lord’s will because of our finances. But, I can always give something! Laine from Laine’s Letters really expanded my vision on this! She said that sometimes she only has $3.00 to spend on a gift. Imagine that! She will pray as she enters the stores and asks that the “Lord gives her eyes to see” and He always provides. I read just the other day that she only had $20.00 for Christmas one year so they had a ‘second hand’ Christmas with finds from the Goodwill Stores. (Most of us would have just put it on the charge card. ) She said they had so much fun shopping this way and so much fun seeing what everyone had found on Christmas.
Here are a few scriptures I’ve been thinking about this morning along with a great quote from an old reprint on the home.
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” James 4:3
“Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your bountiful gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is ABLE to make all GRACE ABOUND toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an ABUNDANCE for every good work. 2 Cor. 9:5-8 (the next few verses are great,too)
Here is that great quote…
“But, in inculcating economy, we must be careful not to drive the mind into covetousness; hence it is of consequence, that with all our endeavors to cherish frugality, we should be no less assiduous to encourage generosity; and to impress them the idea, that the end of saving, is not to hoard, but to distribute to the wants of others.” A Help to Domestic Happiness by James
Comments (8)
I have prayed that the Lord show me the right gift to give,and He does! My husband read Dave Ramsey’s book the Money Makeover (?) and I’m in the process of reading it too. We’re going to pay off my new car.There is such a mindset that debt is good,its the american way, all it does is keep your money going to someone else. Be proud that your money is yours! Happy Memorial Day!
Hi, Good post. I was reading some verses this morning about if we want to be His disciples we have to be willing to pick up our cross and follow Him. He tells us to feed the poor and so on. I was thinking that means I have to be willing to obey even if it means sacrificing. I often give thinking God will give it back to me and this is kind of a new thought that I have to be willing to just give.
So true. I love your thoughts on how to make a dollar stretch. And grannyfox has a good thought, too, about sacrificing ourselves to be able to feed the poor. Sometimes I feel I don’t know half of what it means to “sell all that we have and give to the poor.” That’s a huge sacrifice.
Some gifts don’t cost money, just time and hard work, like cleaning and yard work. For a new baby gift, instead of buying something the baby probably would outgrow too quickly, my husband and I volunteer to babysit so the parents could go out to dinner. It meant a lot to them to be able to go out even for just a couple of hours. I also like to give handmade gifts – but I make sure it’s something useful to them. One of my hobbies is papercrafts, so I give away card sets that you can never have enough of (esp here in Croatia since there are no Hallmark stores to buy them from). Since I already have the supplies on hand, the gifts don’t cost more than a couple of dollars each.
Re giving to the less fortunate, we’ve struggled with this being in the mission field. Because we’re Americans, some people think we have a lot of money, even though we don’t live more extravagantly than they do. We try to give wisely as much as we could, esp people from our church. But, really in the end, we have to give because we’re commanded to give. Unless they have a reputation for abusing others’ generosity, we try not to question why they ask for help. After all, what we have to give is a result of others’ generosity as well.
Excellent food for thought as always.
great post! and i love your xanga background!
Thank you for this post and the reminder! I will make a stop at Goodwill tomorrow and see what treasure I can find!
I really need a right attitude about frugality. Most of our marriage, Doug worked a very good job and if we didn’t budget well it was OK. A new check would be in the bank by the end of the week. We totally lived like grasshoppers.
However, now we are home missionaries. His big paycheck has long been a thing of the past. For the first time in our lives, we’ve really been poor. And, it’s been hard. You would think after 2-and-a-half years, we’d be used to this, but instead we’re getting tired of it. We need new attitudes! It’s very hard to change old ways, and there is such a powerful sense of entitlement we deal with, too. And, instead of being gracious about our circumstances, I find myself complain and saying horrible things. (How could God have chosen such wicked people to serve Him!?)
This is something that has really hit hard this Spring, and we must get over it! God has sustained us. I mean, really, through some of the hardest times. There have been several times when I was afraid of opening my ‘frig in front of company, because it was so bare. (Why would I be ashamed?) We are obviously very ungrateful, and it’s just not right. It frustrates us, and it’s become a hindrance, a stumbling block. It’s not as if we want a new car or new clothes or a vacation. It’s just wanting to not have to count each penny. But, why aren’t we be thankful to count each penny? Why does frugality feel more like punishment, than a blessing?
I’m venting, I guess. There is no one else to talk to about these things. Our pastor and his wife both work outside the home/church. I cannot think of one Pastor’s wife in our region who does not have a job, or receive government support—something we don’t believe is right. So, I apologize for making you my sounding board, but I do welcome your godly counsel.
Thank you for your willingness to be an example.
Thank you for