Frugality and The Heart

 I found the article on Challies that I was looking for on the possible down side of frugality. Doesn't everything have one?

I thought I would take it piece by piece and speak to what I have found to be true in my own heart and life.

What Is Frugality?

The Bible is clear that money issues are very closely connected to heart issues. Money has the ability to expose all kinds of idols of the heart. This is true whether a person is a miser or a spendthrift. Money can be an idol in want and in plenty; frugality can be done wrong and done right. When we discuss frugality, we must realize that we are talking about the heart more than the home.

This is so very true. I have had times of plenty and times of little and idols were exposed during each season. I love "stuff". But more on that later.

The actual definition of frugality can differ from person-to-person. Some see it as meaning little more than economical so that a frugal person is a person who buys things at lower prices than another person might. I think this is what most people mean by the term and how most people live out their attempts at frugality. They feel they are being frugal when they buy things using coupons rather than paying full price and when they purchase clothes or other necessities at thrift stores instead of buying them at regular stores.

This has always been my idea of frugality, probably by default as I didn't spend much time thinking on what frugality looked like.  He goes on to say:

Of course there is certainly nothing wrong with saving money on life’s necessities and if such a thing is possible, it is usually wise. The problem with this kind of frugality, though, is that a person can still have an irrational or unbiblical love of “stuff” while trying to be frugal. Saving money can be a good thing, but it doesn’t matter much if we are saving money in one area so we can just spend it in another. By saving money on groceries a person may then just use his savings to buy more of other things—more than is unnecessary. Is it really frugal to save fifteen cents on a box of macaroni but to have a house stuffed to the rafters with things purchased at the local Goodwill?

I remember taking Nolan into the Dollar Tree and the look on his face when the total was given was priceless. He thought the concept was to come out spending very little money when actually my goal was to come out with alot more things for the money I had to spend. (No, I didn't ask him to go again)

I really like this next paragraph. 

I think the greater ideal with frugality, and something a lot of people miss, is the ideal of not just paying less, but buying less and thus avoiding waste and avoiding becoming captive to stuff. True frugality is not spending less but havingless. A truly frugal person doesn’t buy just as much stuff at lower prices, but learns to live with less of it. If you find that your efforts in frugality help you spend less but leave you with a house that is equally filled with stuff, you are not being frugal. A kind of frugality that really hits the mark is this one: “It’s about a simpler, less complicated lifestyle, not about being cheap. While those who put a frugal lifestyle into practice do tend to be thrifty, there is a method to their madness” (source). It goes on to say “People who practice frugal living tend to look for ways to save time as well as money, and generally prefer a slower, more laid back pace instead of the hectic ‘rat race’ life so many others lead.” Now we’re talking.

Does this mean Nolan was right? Not really, its just that our goals were different. I went in with a list that would have cost ALOT more at Wal Mart so I saved by spending the hundred dollars. I was not being frugal I was trying to get the best deal. I had the money and needed the items. I would say that now I am being frugal because I need items but do not have the money to purchase them at full price. (I do admit when he is right and will say he was not wrong either, just thinking differently)

So in this article when I discuss frugality, I am talking about it as I believe many live it—involving a great emphasis on saving money, not necessarily on living with less stuff. It’s about the deals and bargains, about the thrill of saving a few pennies here and a few dollars there. It is something that can go from a minor distraction to a passion to a lifestyle and almost to a way people define themselves.

This would have described me the last time I tried extreme couponing. I loved the thrill of getting the deal and would be affected if I didn't score the deal!

The article continues:

The first thing I want to point to is the heart. There are few more accurate barometers for our hearts than money. Whether you are spending too much or pinching every penny so hard that it bleeds, your actions and attitudes reflect something in your heart. If you spend more than you have, perhaps you are reflecting greed or a bravado that rejects the fact that God expects us to be in control of our spending. If you pinch every penny, perhaps it shows that you live in fear or that you somehow think God will provide only through what may be excessive control.The fact is, there is no guarantee that a frugal person is less addicted to money and less under the control of money than a person who spends all he has (and more). And this is really the main thing I want you to take away from this article. Frugal people can be every bit as worldly, as obsessed with money, as those who spend like it’s going out of style. Frugality is not inherently good. It is the kind of thing that can masquerade as good even while it is an idol.

Read this again: Frugality is not inherently good

YES AND AMEN!!! As one that does not really like to Yard Sale, pick thru the Thrift or coupon I can remember wondering if it was wrong that I wanted to just pay full price and avoid what I saw as a hassle. I felt like I was sinning for not being a better manager of our money, well, not even a better manager, we managed, but just plain cheaper. (Of course that could have been  because there were so many times in the past that I did spend foolishly and did not manage wisely)

I would never want to make someone feel like they are just bad stewards of their money if they pay full price for things.  Being on this side of the fence I can say with all my heart: If you do not NEED to coupon then leave them there for me to print!!!! LOL  

Always we need to remember that it is God who provides for us and that he has promised us our daily bread. He will provide what we need and our confidence must be in him, not in our own efforts. This is true of the great issues like salvation and sanctification, but also of the smaller issues like finances. So always look to the heart! If you find that your frugality has extended too far—that you do not buy what you need even if you have the money, or if you find that you are reluctant or stingy in giving money to the church or to others in need, you can be certain that your frugality has taken you captive.We need to live in that spot somewhere between confidence in God’s provision and the need for financial self-control. We do not want to presume upon his provision and neither do we want to act as if we do not believe it is true. All the while we want to make sure that we do not make an idol out of stuff and that we do not make an idol out of frugality. We can take as much pride in what we save as what we spend. Both reflect a sinful heart.

I love that he says we do not need to presume on Gods provision.....sometimes we just spend needlessly and say we are trusting God to provide the things that we did not save for. That is not far removed from the what the health and wealth preachers teach.....spend it, do you not believe that God will provide more? And then there is the extreme of doing all we can do to make money, living like we do not believe God will provide anything. How many times did I want to go back to work so I could just make the money we needed to keep our house, our trailer, our boat etc..........? The temptation was strong to just put the kids in school and go outside of the home to make the money. I know I had the freedom to do just that if only for a season to keep our things but it would have been way more than a season. I had to look at the fact that what my husband made was what he made and if we kept things that would cost more than he made then I would HAVE to continue to work outside of the home. For our family, we did not see that as the best thing to do.  It was a complete change of lifestyle that was in order. 

I cannot stand reading posts that just go on and on so I will continue this tomorrow!