Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Spirituality and Money
I hardly ever write about mature subjects on this blog, but I feel I should comment on an egregious pamphlet that our family received in the mail recently. It was sent by the Episcopal church (we recently switched to Presbyterian church, but we remain on the Episcopal mailing lists). When talking about stewardship (giving money to church and charity), one of the writers of this pamphlet said, "It is reasonable and wise to save money for a nest egg, for a rainy day, and for retirement." In other words, this writer is saying that, for good Christians, three different anxiety-relieving piles of cash are acceptable to hoard. Josh and I believe in saving for retirement, in order not to burden the next generation. However, this other kind of saving, this "acceptable hoarding" is completely contrary to all mainstream interpretations of Christian principles. A much more faithful Episcopal priest we once knew gave a sermon in which he claimed that people being baptised always wanted to hold at least one item above the water while they were dunked. For him, it would be a nice suit; for many others, a wallet. C.S. Lewis was radical enough about money to say that he had moral doubts about the very basis of the modern economy: the investment system. He did not condemn the system, but he did say that the rule for charity is to give more than one can afford: to give enough to charity that one must give up things one would have liked to have or do. He also says that if you are in possession of all the goods and comforts possessed by all your neighbors who make the same amount of money that you do, you are not giving enough. According to this standard, all the people at the less faithful Episcopal church that we recently left should, at minimum, give up their gas-guzzling Ford Explorers. Is this such a radical idea? I'm not even saying that they should give up their 3000 square foot houses.--K
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3 comments:
Yeah. I'll never forget my experience of apeaking on frugality at our old (bad) church. It's pretty pathetic when Christian women are making arguments to protect one another along these lines:
"Well, if someone has always wanted a BMW, and they're otherwise living a Christian life, I don't think it's wrong to own one."
Hello! Is it right to WANT one? That's what I asked that made them just a *wee* bit uncomfortable.
Great post! At first glance, I don't really see a problem with the language in the pamphlet. We have a retirement fund, a savings account (for emergencies such as job loss or another Hurricane Rita), and a second checking account where we store money for "rainy day" expenses i.e. intermittant but not altogether unexpected items such as flood insurance, dental care, and major car repair.
I guess I don't see anything wrong with our "three piles" for two reasons. They are designed to help us avoid unecessary debt and I've found that debt is the number one barrier preventing me from doing God's will in the moment. I found myself honoring my committment to pay off the debt BEFORE honoring my committment to God. The second big reason is that these "three piles" have a finite goal amount to them. Once that is met, we quit adding to it.
But I completely share the sentiment that hoarding in any shape or form runs counter to Christian principles.
Am I justifying my own acceptable hoarding though? Maybe. Or perhaps I'm just overly sensitive because we have a '98 Ford Explorer too!
Susan,
Well, I did think after I wrote it of how much trash would be generated if everyone gave up their SUVs all at once! Perhaps the key is to replace the old car (once it is no longer reliable) with a greener car.--K
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