Spending Pt. II
When I wrote yesterday that I was making unnecessary purchases, I was not referring to the Palm TX I bought two weekends ago - that was one decision that took a year for me to make. I wrote about using it in a city like Singapore some months or so. I never did buy it then because it required more think-time. Big dollar purchases are not major issues - you take the time to think about the purchase and if it is necessary to spend that kind of money.
What I was referring to were the smaller incidental purchases which at the point of purchase didn't seem such a bad idea because "it is only a couple of dollars. It's not going to blow a hole in my wallet."
That is the kind of thinking I was referring to. That, is only the surfacial problem of such spending. When you spend a few bucks here and there, it adds up by years end. Secondly, when we think, "its only a couple of dollars", we don't spare a thought for those whom those couple of dollar could really matter... not just the poor and the needy in village projects but those also in our society. This unwarranted incidental spending is of course different when that money could be used easily and productively to be building relationships. Any cost to building relationships is an investment. It's those purchases that you don't really need and by that I mean, really, you don't need. You won't die without it.
The other thing that crossed my mind was how I could spend more wisely - perhaps in lieu of such spending (and that not of my own but of my Father's even!) I thought it would be an exercise in discipline if for unwarranted purchase I make, I make a similar warranted purchase on gfa.org for someone who could really use that money or its value. So every time I want to go buy myself some thing for $30, maybe I'll go online and buy a cow, or an elementary education or some medicine for that same value - for someone who really needs it. Maybe that will help me spend wisely.
Of course, then I realized another problem. It becomes all to easy to just give money away... "offerings and sacrifices are not what you want. The way to please you is to feel deep sorrow in our hearts. This is the kind of sacrifice you won't refuse" Ps. 51:16.
What I was referring to were the smaller incidental purchases which at the point of purchase didn't seem such a bad idea because "it is only a couple of dollars. It's not going to blow a hole in my wallet."
That is the kind of thinking I was referring to. That, is only the surfacial problem of such spending. When you spend a few bucks here and there, it adds up by years end. Secondly, when we think, "its only a couple of dollars", we don't spare a thought for those whom those couple of dollar could really matter... not just the poor and the needy in village projects but those also in our society. This unwarranted incidental spending is of course different when that money could be used easily and productively to be building relationships. Any cost to building relationships is an investment. It's those purchases that you don't really need and by that I mean, really, you don't need. You won't die without it.
The other thing that crossed my mind was how I could spend more wisely - perhaps in lieu of such spending (and that not of my own but of my Father's even!) I thought it would be an exercise in discipline if for unwarranted purchase I make, I make a similar warranted purchase on gfa.org for someone who could really use that money or its value. So every time I want to go buy myself some thing for $30, maybe I'll go online and buy a cow, or an elementary education or some medicine for that same value - for someone who really needs it. Maybe that will help me spend wisely.
Of course, then I realized another problem. It becomes all to easy to just give money away... "offerings and sacrifices are not what you want. The way to please you is to feel deep sorrow in our hearts. This is the kind of sacrifice you won't refuse" Ps. 51:16.
posted by The Chilibuddy @ 7:26 am ::
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