So here’s a thought . . . quit spending money. I call it the “Go One Month Without Buying Anything New” challenge. Basically, the only rule is that you don’t buy anything new for yourself for one month. I know, I know, it’s pretty self-explanatory. Don’t worry, we’ve already began searching for a “name the challenges guy”.
But in all seriousness, think about how much stuff you purchase in a given week, month, and even a whole year. Sometimes it seems like we never put our wallets down. We convince ourselves that the stuff we want to buy is a necessity when in reality it’s just stuff that will end up as clutter around the house. We want and we want and we want. We tell ourselves that we have to have the biggest and the best and the newest and the most fashionable items out there. What we need is to re-examine our priorities.
For this challenge, I’m not talking about food or anything else that might keep you alive and in good health (it’s going to be up to you to define what a necessity is). Instead, this challenge targets those material goods that advertisers have convinced us that we “deserve”.
So here it is: try living the next month as though you were on a mission trip. If you’ve never been on a mission trip, then listen up. Learn how to live with what you already have; without buying new clothes, or new shoes, or any new “stuff”. Obviously this will take some getting used to. It will also take some planning on your part. Don’t be fooled, this challenge will necessitate patience and probably cause a change in the way you think about your money and your spending habits. When you take on this challenge, don’t be surprised if you come out a different person.
Jesus spent a lot of time teaching us to love God before anything else. He taught us to be humble, to serve others in love, and to be selfless. If we aren’t careful, the opportunities around us to share God’s love may be obstructed because of our greed and our need to consume.
