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Frugality just means the abstaining from using money or goods at our disposal in ways that merely gratify our desires or our
hunger for status, glamour, or luxury. We stay within the bounds of what general good judgment would designate as necessary
for the kind of life to which God has led us.
How does one go about fasting?
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your
garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat
your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have
reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into
the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton..” - James 5:1-5, KJV
“I say it again--it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom
of God!" - Matthew 19:24, NLT
These warnings against the rich aren’t stereotypical; if you’re rich, you’re not automatically condemned
to Hell. If you’re wealthy because of the lottery, or a successful business partner whose moved up in the cash flow,
you’re not cut off from God. The warning is against the rich who have hoarded their money, neglecting those in need,
being selfish and conceited, frivolous to the point of their own destruction. Frivolous consumption corrupts the soul away
from trusting, worshipping, and service to God, and affects our ‘neighbors’ – humans throughout the world
– as well.
“It is an injury to society as well as an offense against God when men pamper their bodies with rich and dainty foods
and seriously diminish their physical and mental powers by excessive use of intoxicants… Luxury in every form is economically
bad, it is provocative to the poor who see it flaunted before them, and it is morally degrading to those who indulge in it.
The Christian who has the ability to live luxuriously, but fasts from all extravagance, and practices simplicity in his dress,
his home, and his whole manner of life, is, therefore, rendering good service to society.” - O. Hardman
Frugality frees us from concern and involvement with a multitude of desires that would make it impossible for us “to
do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). It makes it possible for us to concentrate
only one that ‘one thing worth being concerned about’, and that is Jesus alone:
“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed
them into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was worrying over the
big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here
while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me." But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are so upset over all
these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it--and I won't take it away
from her." ” - Luke 10:38-42, NLT
Martha was too worried about dinner – about life! – that she missed who life revolved around! Mary forgot everything
and fell down before Jesus and was just consumed by Him. Frugality opens up a narrow avenue that leads us to experience and
know God more better and fully than we ever have before.
Frugality is also freedom from the spiritual burden of financial debt! How many of us so often buy things that are not necessary?
The effect of doing this is a diminishing of our apparent self-worth, dims our hope for the future, and most of all eliminates
our sensitivity to the needs of others. Frugality gives us freedom from this spiritual bondage, as it frees up our finances
and our costs of living and opens windows to mercy and compassion on those in need. When all is said and done, there is only
debt we have to pay, and that is a debt of love:
“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another…” - Romans 13:8, NASB
John Joseph Surin was once asked why, when so many people seem to wish to be great in God’s eyes, there are so few who
are truly great. “The chief reason,” he replied, “is that they give too big a place in life to indifferent
things.” The bottom line is this: we need to stop wasting money on drugs and alcohol and food and toys, and start tithing,
start giving back to God by giving to others. We need to live generously.
“Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But
their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to
do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others
whatever God has given them.” - 1 Timothy 6:17,18, NLT
On a missions trip in southern Kentucky, I was told a story about a woman who had absolutely nothing, but she flowed over
with a joy that others saw as insane. She lived in a ramshackle house with dozens of cats, and when missionaries stopped by,
she would play the guitar for them, singing hymns to Jesus. Having compassion, the missionaries bought her a box of canned
goods and put them in her panty for her. A day passed, and when they returned, only a handful of the cans were left remaining!
Shocked, they demanded to know where the cans were. Her response has never been forgotten by those there, and has been handed
down through the generations: “There are others who need them more than I do, so I gave them to me.” Buckled over,
someone asked, “But what about you? You don’t have any food!” She calmly replied, “I don’t worry
about it. The Lord Jesus will provide!” This woman was a replica of the widow Jesus pointed out in Luke 21:1-4. She
brought new light to such assuring promises as found in 2 Corinthians 9:7,8:
“You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure.
For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything
you need and plenty left over to share with others.” - 2 Corinthians 9:7,8, NLT
Frugality as a settled style of life frees us from indifferent things. Simplicity (the arrangement of life around a few consistent
purposes, explicitly excluding what is unnecessary to life), and poverty (the rejection of all possessions) are all branches
off frugality, and are in turn part of frugality. The monks of the Middle Ages took simplicity to the next level, living only
with a bed, desk and Bible at times. Yet these were some of the happiest men and women on the planet – why? Because
they discovered what life was all about – Jesus – and didn’t worry about the foggy details that will be
wisped away with the morning sun.
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