Frugality can be an idol (I’m preaching to myself)
By Elizabeth Prata
It’s a daring prayer. It’s hard to do. It takes guts. It’s a prayer we need to pray, but I know I don’t pray it often enough.
‘Lord, please show me my sins and failings. I want to honor you’.
So He did.
I’ve mentioned I’m reading William Spurstowe’s book “The Wiles of Satan.” Yes it’s taking me a while, every sentence is gold and I don’t want to miss anything.
The book is convicting too. He goes through the ways satan attacks us. I’m up to Spurstowe’s “Fifth Strategy: By disguising things so that they appear to be what they are not”. He wrote:
“He hides the deformity which is inseparably bound to evil, by dying it with a superficial tincture of virtue. … How else could the greedy person (whom the Lord abhors, Psalm 10:3) please himself in his sordid stinginess, unless he pretended he was only practicing frugality by following the counsel of our Savior by gathering up the fragments, so that nothing would be lost. (John 6:12)?”
I live on a teacher aide salary. A salary that I’m paid for 190 working days but I still have to live on 365 days. I learned to make the monthly paycheck stretch. Originally, I worked a second job to make ends meet. It was still a struggle. Now I’m 15 years older and I’m tired from the first job when I get home. So now I go the frugal route instead of the second job route. Spend less and watch every penny.
And when they had eaten their fill, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” (John 6:12)
I’m inherently frugal. I have been since I can remember. When I was 16 years old my parents bought me a car and gave me a gas credit card. They set no limits but I set a limit on myself of filling up no sooner than every 10 days. I don’t know why, my family wasn’t strapped for money. I just thought it was good to be careful, it was my parents’ money after all.
I’ve also always enjoyed a good sale or a good deal. But has the thrill of the deal and the satisfaction of meeting my budget responsibilities hardened into an idol?
When I read the Fifth Strategy from Spurstowe and it hit my brain like a comet, I began to wonder. Was I too self-righteous when reading the previous chapters that I hadn’t fallen for strategy one through four, so the Lord showed me that I am not immune to being deceived when I got to strategy five?
Probably. No, certainly.
I save my pennies and scour deals so that I can not only pay my bills and be responsible, but to have some for when I want to give to others. I tell myself that I’m handling the Lord’s means wisely so that I can be generous. But DO I give to others? AM I generous? Or as Spurstowe said, am I practicing sordid stinginess?
So, you say, “Well, I don’t give much, but I don’t have much. If I had more, I’d give more.” No you wouldn’t. No you wouldn’t. No if you had more, you wouldn’t give any more. You say, “How do you know that? You don’t know me.” Well, Jesus does. Verse 10, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much, and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.”
I need to make sure my skill in saving pennies and finding deals for the reason of being responsible with the means the Lord has given me AND for giving, doesn’t turn into saving pennies and finding deals for myself that nurtures a fleshly selfishness.
Gah! Anything can be an idol. Even a ‘good’ thing can be turned into sin.
But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. (1 Timothy 6:6).
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER ABANDON YOU,” (Hebrews 13:5)
