Frugality: A Path to Spiritual Fulfillment and Generosity

In frugality, Dallas writes, we abstain from using money or goods at our disposal in ways that merely gratify our desires or our hunger for status, glamour, or luxury. Practicing frugality means we stay within the bounds of what general good judgment would designate as necessary for the kind of life to which God leads us. [00:01:10]

The spiritually wise person has always known that frivolous consumption corrupts the soul away from trust in and worship of and service to God and injures our neighbor as well. While frugality is a service to God and the human beings our concerned with it here is a discipline and a discipline it frees us from concern with and involvement with a multitude of desires. [00:03:48]

It feels painful for us because what we need to get free of is this idea that is trumpeted all the time in our world that One Day More will be enough. But the truth is that in between more more more and more we live in a world that says if you just had more, more possessions, More Money, More security, more luxury, more clothes if you just had more one day you would get to enough. [00:03:54]

James Clear writes about a fascinating Dynamic there actually is a name for this in his book Atomic habits. There was a French philosopher Dennis Dido I think it's pronounced he's a guy that wrote the Encyclopedia his daughter was going to get married he had almost no money and Katherine the Great Empress of Russia heard about his financial problems and actually bought his library for a huge amount of money back then. [00:04:53]

Dido soon felt the urge to upgrade his possession sound familiar he replaced his rug with one from Damascus he decorated his home with expensive sculptures he bought a mirror to place above the mantle and a better kitchen table he tossed aside his old straw chair for a leather chair like falling dominoes one purchase led to another purchase led to another purchase more more more. [00:06:01]

The Dido effect states that obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption that leads to additional purchases spot this everywhere you buy a dress have to have new shoes and earrings to match you buy a couch suddenly the question you question the layout of your entire living room you buy a toy for your child and you find yourself purchasing all the accessories that go with it. [00:06:35]

When it comes to your finances get out of vague a lot of people go through their life and they're just not clear on what are they spending and what are they they giving and what's happening to them financially this is where debt becomes a primary source of enslavement that frugality can help with so a couple years ago although I'm not a high-tech guy at all but I got on Quicken just so I could now track all the money that I'm spending and all the money that we're giving really easily and really clearly. [00:07:08]

Decide what is enough how much is enough what happens for most of us in our world is if we get more income if our income increases that our lifestyle increases got to have a new Scarlet robe got to have a really nice mirror look at my Scarlet Rob and we just unthinkingly raise it but there are people who say no this will be enough and if my income rises above this I will simply give it away. [00:08:09]

Don't wait till you feel generous to give one of Jesus's This brilliant statements of course I'm not sure that there were any that go in the non-brilliant category but one of them is don't store up Treasures on Earth where moth and rust corrode and thieves break into steel lay up treasure in heaven and we do that as we give we do that as we're generous to other people because he said where your treasure is there your heart will be. [00:08:55]

Spend a little less money than you otherwise would if you go out to eat for a meal get cheaper food than you otherwise would get a smaller cup of coffee than anyway just tiny little things and then give that if somebody has something that they want you to share go ahead and share with them go into your closet and find a Scarlet robe and give it away and if this practice doesn't help you stay with it because it's worth persistence. [00:09:58]

Frugality serves as a spiritual discipline that frees us from the endless cycle of consumption, which can distract us from our relationship with God and our ability to serve others. The modern world often promotes the idea that more possessions and wealth will eventually lead to satisfaction, but this is a deceptive promise. The truth is that the pursuit of "more" never truly satisfies. [00:03:13]

By deciding what is "enough" for us, we can resist the temptation to increase our lifestyle with every rise in income. Generosity is another key aspect of frugality. By giving, we lay up treasures in heaven, aligning our hearts with God's purposes. Today, I encourage you to take small steps towards frugality. Spend a little less, give a little more, and find joy in simplicity. [00:08:09]