Necessities...you'd think that they would be easy to figure out, those things that you just can't live without and that you need for basic sustenance, life and survival in a particular context. The funny thing is that it is probably harder to ascertain then we'd think. We live in a culture and context in which we are constantly being bombarded by adds, images, enticing us to spend and telling us that we just can't live without these products. We live in an economy that is based on credit at just about every level. For these, and a whole host of other reasons, it becomes harder and harder to decide what is really a necessity. As Christians we believe that God has promised to care for all our needs (Matthew 6:31-34). We also believe that all that we have is a gift from God to be used for His kingdom purposes (Matthew 25:14-30) including our time, treasure, talents and gifts. The question we have been asking ourselves is how much do we really need to get by? How much money do we spend on things that are not necessities? When we spend more financially on things that are not needs, then how much time, energy, talents and other resources do we need to spend in order to afford the extra expenditure? With these questions in mind our family has decided to embark on a month long experiment. We are going to try to spend as little money as possible, and before we make the smallest purchase we will stop and ask ourselves "is this really necessary?" The answer to that question will determine our spending habits. Our goal is to have a better understanding of how we spend all of our resources so as to be able to make a more thoughtful and careful investment for the Kingdom. So for the month of September at least my cheap side will thrive!
Here we go!!!
If you want to follow some of our thoughts and discoveries as we go then feel free to check out my wife's blog over the next few weeks.
Posts
It's weird how different our definitions of "necessities" can be! I just posted a note on facebook today about how someone in a "Real Simple" article considers her morning latte (take-out) a non-negotiable necessity. Me? I consider food for us and gas for the car necessities; people living elsewhere might not find a car necessary at all.
ReplyDeleteThis is something we struggle with a lot.
Well...it wasn't a Latte, but Kim and I did have to stop and consider buying cream for coffee or just going with milk which we had to buy for the kids anyway. We went for the cream and opted for a far less expensive coffee to justify the added expense. Our rationalization was that the total overall cost was still lower...is that cheating???
ReplyDeleteI also have a pretty good deal going with my local coffee shop where I play every once and a while in exchange for drinking free whenever want!