I’m resuming my blog after an
unplanned hiatus last week due to the flu.
During this month, we have been examining five key virtues, which are at
the heart of a distinctive Christian lifestyle.
In previous weeks, I described virtues as the values that define who we
are as persons. Virtues are the
attributes of our inner character that others see reflected in our outer life
of words and deeds. Think of virtues as
“habits of the heart.” Virtues become
habitual, so ingrained within us, that they guide and inform our actions even
when we are not aware of their influence on our lives. These five Christian virtues strengthen us as
Christians to live ethically in a way that reflects Christ in what we say and
do—and, this leads to a distinctly Christian lifestyle.
Over the past weeks, we have explored the Christian virtues of hope,
love, and justice. This Sunday, I will focus on the virtue of frugality;
sometimes called “temperance.” For many readers,
my inclusion of frugality may appear to be an odd choice, to say the
least. Within our culture and context,
we tend to view frugality very negatively as the senseless denial of helpful
and enjoyable products and diversions.
Among its synonyms for “frugality,” the online Thesaurus.com lists
negative terms, such as stingy, meager, niggardly, penny-pinching, scrimping,
and tightwad.[i]
However, the virtue of “frugality” does not have to contain negative
connotations. The literal dictionary definition of “fugal” means “economical in
use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.”[ii] So, the virtue of frugality refers to the
habit of careful, restrained use of goods and other resources; refraining from
extravagance or wastefulness. The virtue
of frugality also includes an attitude of valuing all available resources and
products. This is a positive virtue.
Contemporary American popular culture frequently views frugality
negatively because it assumes that extravagant consumption is required for
happiness. This perspective understands
happiness rather narrowly, in individual terms, as the consumption of goods and
services. Therefore, to be happy requires constant consumption of goods and
services. Further, this worldview
assumes that greater happiness may be obtained by increased consumption.
Thus, the prevailing vision for the good life centers on obtaining and
maintaining an affluent lifestyle of continual and increasing consumption. This
vision of the good life is grounded in particular anthropological assumptions about
what it means to be human. In this view,
the essential defining characteristics of who we are as persons become our
consumption patterns. To be human means
fundamentally to consume. Thus, our
self-worth becomes defined in terms of what we own and what we consume.
Given this prevailing vision of the good life and
what it means to be human, then obviously the virtue of frugality must be
viewed with disdain. In a consumer-oriented
culture that understands consumption as the key to happiness, then practicing
the virtue of frugality is tantamount to intentionally choosing unhappiness. Why would anyone choose unhappiness?
But, is consumption of more and more stuff really the key to
happiness? Probably not. We know from the vast amount of research conducted
by psychologists and other social scientists that consumption of goods and
services is not an important factor in experiencing happiness. Instead, contemporary research among thousands of persons suggests that these are the keys to lasting happiness in life:
1.
Ongoing personal growth
2.
Positive attitudes towards life and others
3.
Strong inter-personal relationships
4.
A bountiful gratitude for life’s gifts and
blessings
5.
A strong sense of meaning and purpose in life
6.
An ability and commitment to serving others.
7.
An ability and opportunities for making the
world a better place; that is, making a real difference in the world.[iii]
Of course, this delusion that consumption is the key to
happiness is not endemic to our time and popular culture. Throughout history, many people have believed
that happiness comes from being wealthy and having the money to buy whatever we
desire. This is the case even in the
Bible. In our scripture reading for this
Sunday, the writer observes, “those who want to be rich fall into temptation
and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into
ruin and destruction” (1Timothy 6:9). That
is, those who place their trust in riches end up chasing after many senseless,
or even harmful desires, which lead to unhappiness rather than happiness.
Perhaps the most misquoted verse in all of the scriptures
follows verse 9 above. 1 Timothy 6:10 is
frequently misquoted as saying that “the love of money is the root of all evil.” Actually, the verse reads: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the
faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”
This is the crux of the matter.
It is not that resources and possessions are inherently bad—or evil. Instead, when we become deluded into trusting our
wealth as the key to our happiness and security, then we turn away from God and
begin trusting in ourselves and our wealth.
We replace God with temporal goods and services. Later in chapter 6, the writer of 1 Timothy
observes that instead of trusting in their possessions, the rich are to use
their wealth “to do good, to be rich in good words, generous, and ready to
share” (verse 18).
The virtue of frugality helps us to keep our wealth and
possessions in proper perspective. By
properly valuing our possessions, while at the same time using them carefully,
we develop the proper attitude towards consuming goods and services. Rather than trusting our possessions as the
key to our happiness and security, we see our possessions as resources for
serving God and the world. As it turns
out, this is the key to happiness and a secure life in God. Perhaps the best summary of the virtue of
frugality comes from John Wesley, who once wrote: “Earn all you can; save all you can; give all
you can.”
If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a place of
worship, then I invite you to come and join us this Sunday, January 29th, at
Christ United Methodist Church, as we reflect on the Christian virtue of frugality. In the proclamation, I will conclude with
some suggestions on how we can cultivate the virtue of frugality in our
lives. The church building is located at
4530 A Street. Our classic worship
services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because
God loves us all.
[i]
Thesaurus.com, “frugal,” accessed online at http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/frugal?s=t,
25 January 2017.
[ii]
Dictionary.com, “frugal,” accessed online at http://www.dictionary.com/browse/frugal,
25 January 2017.
[iii]
Readers may remember my sermon series last winter on happiness. For a further discussion of social research
into the keys to true happiness, see my blog post, “The Keys to True Happiness,”
posted on 22 January 2016.
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