Squeeze a Scream OR Throw Up!

Good stewardship requires the right attitude. Good stewardship is taking care of things entrusted to one.

The entire purpose of living within one’s means is to glorify God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says it all, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Good stewardship of money means living within one’s means and paying the consequences of sin. (Debt is sin and has consequences.) One cannot live within one’s means without a plan. The best tool for that plan is the budget.

‘Black-hole’ money is the money that is not included in the budget, but is mysteriously spent. Find it, and find ways to reduce it.

Practical money management means being both thrifty and frugal. These terms have gotten a ‘negative’ connotation in last couple of decades. Read the ‘dictionary’ definitions:
Thrifty: given to or marked by economy and good management
Frugal: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources

Those that grew up in the ‘Great Depression’ thought of these terms as positive sought after traits. Tell people of that generation they can squeeze a nickel until the buffalo screams (referring to ‘Buffalo’ nickels). They take it as a compliment. To get out of debt we need to cultivate that attitude in ourselves.

For many years, mom has been a speaker, Bible study leader, and teacher. She has been ‘accused’ of being thrifty and frugal. Sometimes even the thrifty learn lessons. One occasion she remembers found her speaking to a group of women at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Broadmoor is like the Beverly Hills Hilton of Colorado Springs. It is ‘big money’. Here is this Godly woman, unemployed, living on the stipend of a deceased husband, supporting two kids at home, speaking in a hotel conference room where a cup of coffee costs as much as week’s groceries. After speaking, one woman asked mom if she would like to go shopping. Mom was a little embarrassed and uncomfortable surrounded by so much wealth. She agreed, thinking of it as an opportunity to minister. They hopped in the woman’s brand new Cadillac to visit what the woman called her ‘favorite’ store. As mom tells the story, she was a little apprehensive because she ‘knew’ who the woman was, and how wealthy. Mom muses that she still wanted to minister, but was nervous about being ‘tempted beyond her strength’ at some ‘Rodeo Drive’ store. Mom’s jaw dropped and she was completely dumbfounded when they arrived. Mom looked at the woman and asked the obvious question, “Your favorite store is 'Goodwill'?” The woman responded confidently, “Yes!” "But, you can afford to shop anywhere you want, I mean you’re RICH!" continued mom. The woman fixed mom with a knowing smile and said, "How do you think we got that way?"

Rich people get wealthy and stay wealthy not only by how much they earn, but also how they SPEND what they have! Being a good steward does not mean earn more, it means spend wisely. The parable of the ‘Prodigal Son’ (Luke 15:11-32) illustrates this point. The ‘spend now, pay later’ attitude, and the ‘I want it now’ attitude are the morals of our time. We live in a world of instant gratification, not ‘good stewardship’.

There have been numerous studies done about ‘Big’ lottery winners. Their fortunes evaporate. The majority of ‘professional’ athletes live at or below the poverty level within five years of retiring. Why? It is not because they did not have huge amounts of money. It is because they do not know how to SPEND money. The 1985 Walter Hill movie, ‘Brewster’s Millions’ is the same thing. There is a line something like, “I’m going to teach you to hate spending money. I’m going to make you so sick of spending money that the mere sight of it will make you want to throw up.”

As ‘good stewards’ we do not have be ‘so sick of spending money that it makes us want to throw up’, but we do need to learn thrift, and frugality.