Balancing, Enjoyment, Contentment, and Generosity

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 [2] 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).

Stewardship Mentality

The first step in determining a God-honoring lifestyle is understanding the difference between an ownership mentality and a stewardship mentality. When someone is an owner, they have complete control over what they own and are not accountable to anyone else. When someone is a steward, they are managing something owned by someone else and are held accountable for their management by the owner. The Lord makes it clear that we are stewards, not owners: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1) and “The silver is mine and the gold is mine declares the Lord almighty” (Haggai 2:8). Randy Alcorn gives an excellent depiction of stewardship in his book Money Possessions and Eternity [1]:

“When teaching from 1 Corinthians 6 in a college class, I sometimes ask someone in the front row to lend me his pencil for a moment. When he hands me the pencil, I immediately take it, break it in half, throw it on the ground and crush it under my foot. The reaction of the students is shock and disbelief. What right do I have to break someone else's pencil? But then I explain that it's really my pencil, which I planted with that person before the session. Suddenly everything changes. If it's my pencil, but only if it's mine, then I have the right to do with it as I please.”

When we understand the drastic implications of stewardship, instead of asking, how much of my money should I spend on my lifestyle? The question shifts to how much of God’s money should I spend on my lifestyle?

Two Types of Disciples

The apostles left their homes, families, and possessions behind in order to follow Jesus. Often this type of disciple is revered as the “gold standard” of Christians today. Imagine with me for a moment, what would it look like if all Christians decided to pursue full-time missions in the field? As amazing as that would be, who would fund all the missionaries? In the New Testament, Mary of Bethany had a large home, and many possessions yet was regarded as one of the most devoted of Jesus’ followers. She often made her home available for the disciples to use. In Acts 28:7 and Romans 16:23, we also see similar acts of hospitality from affluent followers of Christ [1]. Jesus never condemned these individuals for having material wealth because of the way they used it to bless others. God gives clear instructions to those entrusted with much in 1 Timothy 6:17-19:

“Instruct those who are rich in this present world [A family of 4 making $50k per year is in the top 10% of world income earners [3]] not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”

It is important to note that God did not say “Instruct those who are rich to stop being rich.” Instead, His instruction is to be “generous and ready to share.” We can be disciples by being in the mission field or by supporting those in the mission field. One is not better than the other, however, what is not an option is using our resources as we see fit and neglecting the advancement of God’s kingdom here on earth. Luke 14:33 supports this when Jesus declares: “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” Understanding the phrasing here is key. Jesus says, “give up” not “give away.” This means we must be willing to give over everything for kingdom purposes even if that means we retain possession of those resources [1].

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:

1. 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 [4]) or are these things luxuries that would not significantly affect our quality of life [5]?
2. 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)
3. 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?

Generosity

If we are stewards of the resources God has entrusted us with and feel led to embody a lifestyle spending less than we can afford, what would God have us do with our surplus?

• “Instruct those who are rich in this present world… to be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:17-18)
• “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11)
• “At the present time, your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: ‘the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little’” (2 Corinthians 8:14-15)
• “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (2 Chronicles 29:14)

It does not take much searching in scripture to understand that God’s desire for us is to be generous with what He has entrusted us with. We know giving is near to the Lord’s heart because of how often guidance and commands are laid out in scripture regarding generosity. There are three main reasons as to why we should give: Giving…

• Meets the needs of others (2 Corinthians 8:14-15)
• Breaks the power of money in our lives (Matthew 6:24)
• Results in rewards in heaven (Matthew 19:29, Luke 12:33-34)

The posture in which we give is also important to God. We should give:

• The first of what we receive (Proverbs 3:9, Malachi 3:10)
• With a cheerful attitude (2 Corinthians 9:7)
• Of our own freewill (Ezra 2:68-69, 2 Corinthians 9:7)

How much should we give? One of the common misconceptions among Christians today is that God is entitled to 10% of our income (because tithing is what good Christians do, right?), and the remaining 90% is ours to do with as we please. However, when we understand that our income is not actually ours, our perspective should drastically change. Instead of asking how much of our money should we give? We should ask ourselves how much of God’s money would He want us to keep? Mark 12:41-44 gives us a great example of what the posture of our hearts should be when we give:

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.’”

This illustrates that the amount we give, in proportion to what we have, is important to God, and generosity means more when we give sacrificially. Once again, Luke 12:48 affirms this: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Tithing can be an excellent starting point, but true generosity starts with freewill giving above and beyond our tithes [1]. When we do give, where should we give to? In the Old Testament, the three tithes were for:

1. Priests and Levites (Numbers 18:21)
2. Widows, Orphans, and the Poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29)
3. Sacred Festival (Deuteronomy 14:22-27)

When we give, we should be giving to meet a current need. Supporting the local church should never be overlooked while helping those in need (widows, orphans, and the poor) is close to the Lord’s heart: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed” (Proverbs 19:17). Regardless of whether the tithe is a part of the new covenant, it is an excellent way to acknowledge God’s ownership and learn the discipline of giving (just as one gets in the habit of praying, reading their bible, or going to church). Additionally, one of the quickest ways to have more of a heart for furthering God’s kingdom is to put our money there [1]: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Million-Dollar Question

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: it breaks the power of money in our lives, allows us to meet the needs of others, and results in rewards in heaven.

So, do we buy the million-dollar home or not?

1. Where are our hearts and what are our intentions?
2. Will we be able to justify the purchase to God on judgement day?
3. Knowing that an alternative is to give away more to further God’s kingdom, is this a tradeoff we are willing to make?
4. Have we prayed James 1:5 and asked the Lord for wisdom?

When evaluating any lifestyle decision, erring on the side of generosity and contentment is often best.

References

[1] ??????R. Alcorn, Money Possessions and Eternity, Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2003.

[2] ??????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].

[3] ??????Giving What We Can, "How Rich Am I?," [Online]. Available: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org/how-rich-am-i?income=50000&countryCode=USA&household%5Badults%5D=2&household%5Bchildren%5D=2. [Accessed 12 May 2022].

[4] ??????R. Crosson, Your Life Well Spent: The Eternal Rewards of Investing Yourself and Your Money in Your Family, Eugene: Harvest House Publishing, 2012.

[5] ??????J. Cortines and G. Baumer, God and Money: How We Discovered True Riches at Harvard Business School, Carson: Rose Publishing, 2016.