So a theme often on my heart is serving God well with my finances. I definitely think God calls different people to do that in different ways. For me, it definitely means not living extravagantly, and I haven’t felt like I have been living a particularly luxurious life. God started poking at my lifestyle though a lot in this past week, and pointing out things in my life. I was talking with another foreigner in a much less fortunate situation than myself. She, her mom, and her daughter were living on 120€ a month from the government, and it sounded like that was really their only income besides some they could gather begging. I thought I was being stingy when I budgeted 120€ for food my first month (the first month is more expensive because you’re stocking up on basic ingredients that will last a while, plus detergent, and toilet paper and all that jazz).
God pointed out to me that while I haven’t been super extravagant, depending on the standards you compare me to, the key was that I have always been living right up to the edge of my means. God wants me to practice living under my means, even now when my means are very small. I need to stop a habit that could be dangerous in the long run. My mindset has been to look at what I have and then use it. When I get a raise, I use it. When I graduate and get a real job, I use more. As I begin making more money, I begin to live extravagantly just by following the unextravagant pattern I’ve been living now of using all of my means. I need to be able to have extravagant means without an extravagant lifestyle. God pointed this out to me by throwing a forgotten 50€ visa expense at me. Suddenly my food budget went down to 70€. That means this month I am still living to the edge of my means, but through it all, God was able to point out this habit in my life so that when the money does begin to come in (hopefully at the end of the month) I might be able to continue living as I have this month, so that I may be a blessing to others with my coming abundance (I didn't even realize it was abundant until now).
Don’t let your lifestyle keep rising to your income.
Define your lifestyle and then do something awesome and unselfish when your income rises.
1 comment:
This is such an awesome thought. I was on co-op for the last 6 months, and I just barely saved money even though I was making more than ever, I tithed, but that's the bare minimum. I always think that I'll figure out my finances when I've got a steady income, but how many people ever actually have a steady income? Great to be encouraged from the other side of the Pond. Thanks for thinking out loud.
-Alex
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