I bet you can't go a month without spending money.
In Jeff Peak's latest "Round Robin," he mentioned a challenge the Amate House has begun: a competition between the members of the household to see who can spend the least amount of money within the month of February. It involves public tracking and a dinner prize.
This particular adventure strikes a sweet chord in my heart; I've been reading Jesus for President, a book by Shane Claiborne about ... well, society, politics, and the ways the Christian community has diverted from God's original intentions for the lifestyle of His kingdom. As I progress through the text, I become increasingly frustrated with feelings of inadequacy and helplessness. No, I'm not helplessly stuck in the consumerist society, "slave to the system." But I am, by my own vices, stuck.
"Folks didn't go to the desert simply to escape the world; they went to the desert to save the world." (Claiborne, Jesus for President 79).
Christ didn't come to reform society. He came to create a New Society: a New Kingdom in His name and modeled after His lifestyle--separate from the corrupt world. A City on a Hill. A Light in the Dark, removed and completely alternate from the norm.
My life is far from Christ's conservative, humble example.
And I bet you feel somewhat the same.
What if we spent just a month, free of the tyranny of our credit cards, of the cash in our pocket, of the ATM's angry face? Christ retreated to the desert for a little over a month, and returned to begin his "underground revolution" among the poor, the quiet, the meek, the heavy-hearted. We know where His revolution led, what it accomplished, and continues to accomplish even in the whispers of the Saints.
And it all started in a desert. We're supposed to be set apart. Are we? Or are we just surviving, searching for a balance, struggling along between Temptation and God's calling?
My goal: exercise the spirit of Jeff's "Frugal February."
I think you can do it, too.
I know I'm tired of feeling like a slave.
6 comments:
The irony of it is that because of our economic times, I literally HAVE no money to spend.
That's why I think that in some weird way, this crisis is teaching people about what really matters in life. God, our relationships with others, family, the fact that we're alive and healthy...
But yes, we do need to be set apart...future generations need US as their examples...not the media or any other force in society.
Ya it certainly helps that I have zero dollars in my bank account. Previously I've been a pro at getting in debt but I "lost" my credit card for the month. And hopefully for many months to come haha
I can do this
Thanks for the shout out. I'm glad that you have continued with your blogging. Mine has stalled. For the record, I'm at $10.28.
Nice, Jeff. I'm counting the days before I started, so I'm at 11.9something cause I bought songs on Itunes. baha. With money I don't have. Sigh.
Everyone else: good luck. Same to those who emailed me :) Let me know how it goes.
I put myself on the frugal thing in January when I realized I spent three times as much money on eating out than what I had budgeted for.
It's hard to not worry about money though when you have loan payments every month and you get scheduled to work less and less hours every week.
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