*Visit FrugalLivingNW for today’s coorresponding post.
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I must admit, I doubt Jesus was a bargain shopper. I doubt that he went from booth to booth in the open-market, haggling over the price of a loaf of bread. In fact, he was known to just send his disciples into town to get bread so he could get some ministry done while they were gone (John 4). I doubt that he specified which brand to buy, or asked for exact change when they returned.
Why? Because Jesus was not consumed by the things of this world. He exhorted his disciples not to strive for the food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which He Himself gives (John 6:27). So, I doubt Jesus would want us to ever stress for a moment about scoring the greatest bargain deal. But I do think He would endorse us learning how to use our financial resources for the greatest good possible. In other words, I do think He’d want us to spend wisely.
Consider how He did this. On a light note, here are some grocery budget tips from the life of Jesus:
- He fasted for 40 days. Now that would save some money! See how well that goes over with your husband: “Sorry, honey there’s no food in the house. We’re not going to eat until October.” Hmm… In all seriousness, though. Jesus was not consumed by food. SO MUCH of what we buy is to satisfy our need to munch, not to provide real nutritional benefit. We’ll talk on Thursday about the 6 billion dollars that Americans spend on gum. If we just cut out all non-nutritious items, I think we’d be amazed at how our spending decreases. Similarly, Jesus showed us that man does not live by bread alone. Meaning, we would be wise to learn to turn to God before we turn to food. Had a bad day? Skip the candy bar and pull out God’s Word. Even last night, as I was trying to write a post, I felt frustrated that nothing was coming out right and so I found myself super craving cookies. Isn’t that crazy? I realized it was because of stress that I was craving, not hunger. I skipped it and stuck with the post and was so thankful for the results. I don’t always make the right choice, but if we did this more often our budgets (and our waistlines) would thank us. When we go without, just a tiny bit, we allow God to show us that He, not food, is our master and sustainer.
- He stretched food. Now, I understand that taking a few loaves and fishes and feeding 5-10,000 people is a miracle that we are not likely to duplicate. But, I do believe that we can pray for God to bless and break our food and multiply it to feed many mouths for his glory. I have been amazed over and over how God multiplies our food when I actually let Him. That means making a choice not to hoard, but instead stretching yourself in such a way that you actually have to ask for God’s stretching power. So many times I’ve decided to challenge ourselves and try to make it one week longer in my monthly grocery shopping (like this month, I’m currently 10 days past “grocery day”!). Without fail I’ll be surprised by Jeff bringing home leftover pizza, or our church food ministry sending home some expiring food that they didn’t want to go to waste, or someone inviting us over for dinner, or unearthing something unexpected from the freezer. Now our goal in this isn’t to be cheap and miserly so that we can hoard money–I certainly don’t think God will honor that heart. But what if we really did lift all our food up to Him and ask Him to stretch it all for His glory? We might view food in a different light–as a sacred gift.
And on a more serious note, consider the way He spent His time and His energies (because as we saw in the FrugalLiving article, how we spend our time and energy is just as important as how we spend our money):
- He knew when to hold back. Jesus is an excellent example of boundaries. When ministry was busy, He often went alone to a secluded place to pray. Jesus knew when to give and when to get alone. That is giving wisely. In the midst of our busy schedules and bargain hunting, we must know when the wisest thing is to shut the computer, forget the deal, and get alone with God.
- He didn’t waste. A tricky exhortation is Matthew 7:6 where Jesus tells us not to throw pearls to pigs. In other words, don’t invest your time and energy in people or endeavors which will be fruitless. Now this is tricky, of course, because we don’t always know. But the principle is helpful, and as we ask Jesus for wisdom, He will help us to discern when what we’re spending our time, money, and energy on, is in fact a worthwhile investment or or when it’s a foolish waste of our precious resources. Sometimes for me all it takes is a step back, a quick prayer for wisdom, and a dose of perspective to see whether all the time spent bargain-shopping is really worth the time and energy. Life is short. Let’s not waste a minute of it.
- He fulfilled His civic duties in light of His spiritual duties. Jesus paid his taxes (Matthew 22:21). However, He calls us to something far greater than simply handing over our income tax. He asks for our whole life, given over to Him. We are image-bearers of God, so we are His. When we spend our lives wisely for His glory, we simply fulfill what we were created to do.
- He got ticked when religion was corrupted by commercialism (Matthew 21:12). This is a serious warning for today’s church. If we reduce Christianity to the buying and selling of religious goods and services, using spirituality for one’s own material gain, we are certainly not spending wisely, and reducing God’s house to a den of robbers. This is probably another topic altogether, but worth noting.
Bottom line? Spending wisely is using all that we have for the glory of God. It means stretching our food so we can do more with what He’s given us. And what is the more that He’s calling us to do? More on that Thursday as we look at how Jesus models giving generously.
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*How has the life of Christ inspired your spending habits? How do you make every cent count? I’d love to hear.