During last Sunday's sermon on Malachi 3 Dave encouraged us to think creatively about how we could be more generous and how we could actually enjoy God more by giving to his agenda and cares in our world. So he encouraged us to be creatively sacrificial and suggested that simply by not buying coffee and lunch so regularly each week, it could make such a difference in our capacity to give.
So imagine not buying coffee or lunch for just 3 days of the working week. Very conservatively, even after the expense of making your own salad and sandwiches at home (shock horror I know for some of us), that would mean we had at least $30 extra to give. That's $120 a month, a for 48 working weeks that's $1440 a year that can be used for gospel blessing. That's huge.
And that's not to say we can't enjoy lunch or coffee, or that working lunches are to be banned.....these are good things to be received with thankfulness to God. But as the Gospel excites us and fills our vision we'll actually enjoy making changes and sacrifice to avoid building treasures on earth in view of the wonders of heaven.
But forgoing buying lunches and coffee is one suggestion......what other ideas might people have in both big and small ways as to how we can avail ourselves of more generosity in the things of God?
A good one I find it to set up a direct deposit system so that on pay day my money gets allocated to various organisations. If I don't see it then I don't have a temptation to spend it on frivalous things.
ReplyDeleteI think the most helpful thing for me is to record everything I buy weekly. That way I can easily see how much rubbish I'm buying which I don't need. I find this the easiest way to reduce thoughtless spending which frees up money for Church, charities and those in need.
ReplyDeleteAlso, try a spare change box. Whenever you get any coins, set them aside. Don't ever use coins when making a purchase. You don't really notice what you're not spending, and they really do add up!
Totally agree with you on the spare change thing. It certainly adds up.
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