Balancing Enjoyment, Contentment, and Generosity
By: Hayden Ericks
How much should we as Christians spend on our lifestyles? Is a million-dollar home a reasonable way to provide for our families or does it show a lack of contentment? Deciding where to draw the line in any area of lifestyle spending is difficult. I will not tell you whether or not to buy a million-dollar home, but I will give you the tools to evaluate your situation through a Biblical lens.
One million dollars can buy a 4,000 square foot home on 20 acres of land in Montana, but in New York City, that same amount of money may only buy a small condo or apartment. Is one a better stewardship decision than the other? Determining an appropriate lifestyle is less about the actual dollar amount than it is about the motives behind our lifestyle choices. Buying an expensive home so we can impress others is very different than doing so to have the ability to host church retreats, allow missionaries to stay with us in between deployments, and open our homes to those in need. God cares more about our intentions, which is evident in Mark 14:3-7:
“A woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on [Jesus’] head. [The disciples] were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly.”
The apostles understood the immense opportunity cost of this interaction: if the perfume was sold, the proceeds from the sale could have been used for an endless number of alternative possibilities. The disciples were quick to judge and had even decided where she should have given the money! What would our reactions be if we saw $65,000 evaporate in a matter of minutes? Probably not too far off from the disciples’ responses. However, Jesus does not rebuke the woman, instead, He offers this reply:
“’Leave her alone,’ said Jesus. ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.’”
Similar to the disciples, it is easy for us to tell others what is or is not a proper use of their resources, yet we are able to justify the financial decisions in our own lives. This is one of the reasons to seek financial counsel from coaches, advisors, and accountability partners when making major lifestyle choices: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22).
One million dollars could feed 25,000 malnourished children in Africa for 10 weeks [1] regardless of whether we live in New York City or Montana. Does this mean all the Christians living in New York City should sell their homes, move to Montana, buy a substantially cheaper home, and give away the difference? Using Matthew 26:7-11 as context, I do not believe so. God calls his people to live out their calling and minister to others all around the country, and around the world. However, if we feel God leading us to sell certain possessions to give to those in need, we should. Because no two situations are exactly alike, there will be grey areas in most of our lifestyle decisions. We must be extremely careful using “always” and “never” when determining what is or is not an appropriate use of our resources. The best way to evaluate our choices is to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5).
Maintaining Balance
Should we live on next to nothing, neglecting the needs of our families to give more money away to kingdom causes? God would caution us against that: “anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). This is quite a strong warning. What about providing for our families’ immediate needs but doing away with all spending on unnecessary luxuries such as eating out at restaurants, going to the movies, or taking vacations? In 1 Timothy 6:17, God articulates that He gives us “all things to enjoy,” which would mean this perspective is flawed as well. How about endlessly accumulating resources “just in case”? In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool who tore down his barns and built bigger ones to store his surplus. God casts judgment on this man: “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich towards God.” Hebrews 13:5 compliments this parable well: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.”
So, how much should we spend on our lifestyles? Somewhere between providing for our families’ needs and enjoyment and the rich fool’s endless accumulation. The gap between these two extremes is vast, but here are some tools to help us evaluate our lifestyle spending:
- If we were to increase or decrease what we spend on our lifestyle by 20%, what are we adding or removing from our lives? Are these things that are God-honoring and useful for building spiritual capital (using resources to further God’s kingdom) and social capital (using resources to enhance relationships with our family members [2]) or are these things luxuries that would not significantly affect our quality of life [3]?
- Consider asking ourselves, “will I be able to justify spending ‘x’ amount of dollars on _________ with the resources I have been entrusted to manage when I am standing before God on judgment day?” (Read 2 Corinthians 5:10)
- God entrusts us with financial resources for three reasons: to provide for our families, for our enjoyment, and to meet the needs of others. What percentage of our resources are allocated to each of these three areas, and how might God want to see that changed?
God owns it all. If it is not ours to begin with, we will one day be held accountable for the ways we utilize God’s resources. However, that does not mean that we cannot live on and enjoy what we have, but we must be willing to give over everything for kingdom purposes even when we retain possession. God loves cheerful givers, and true joyful giving starts when we give above and beyond our tithes [4]: it breaks the power of money in our lives, allows us to meet the needs of others, and results in rewards in heaven.
References
[1] Save the Children, “The Devastating Effects of Child Starvation & Malnutrition in Africa,” [Online]. Available: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/emergency-response/helping-starving-african-children. [Accessed 12 May 2022].
[2] R. Crosson, Your Life Well Spent: The Eternal Rewards of Investing Yourself and Your Money in Your Family, Eugene: Harvest House Publishing, 2012.
[3] J. Cortines and G. Baumer, God and Money: How We Discovered True Riches at Harvard Business School, Carson: Rose Publishing, 2016.
[4] R. Alcorn, Money Possessions and Eternity, Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2003.
