For those of you at a Catholic or reasonably liturgical Protestant church today, you heard the reading of the widow’s mite, as well as, most likely, a homily/sermon on sacrificial giving.
Elsewhere in the readings cycle, we’ll all hear Matthew 6:25 – 34, and the injunction not to worry about tomorrow but rather to “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”
So, for your consideration today (after you’ve made my recommended quick pseudo-stir-fry for dinner):
How do you make sense of this in the year 2015?
Sure, in the year 33 AD, you work ’til you die, or perhaps ’til, in old age, your children care for you. No such thing, really, as saving for the future — not for retirement, not for furthering your education, or buying a house, nor for starting a business. And if you’re poor, there’s not a heck of a lot you can do about it, not much in the way of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
But in 2015?
To be sure,there are questions around the choice of lifestyle we live. A closet full of shoes? Golf every weekend? Or do you pick up your duds at the Goodwill? (Me, I tell myself that I’ll get a new wardrobe once I’ve lost these last 5 pounds. . . but I’ve been telling myself that for the last five years or so.)
On the other hand, we’d love to take the family to a Broadway-style show. Is it being to spendthrift to to buy the $59 seats? The $89 seats? Remember, we’re a family of 5. And that’s being frugal enough to plan a theater outing while visiting the folks in Detroit. ‘Round here, the prices are $117 or $147 per ticket. Is it foolish to spend that much money, when we could be writing a check for that amount to charity instead? (Though, who am I kidding? Newsies in Detroit has plenty of availability around Christmastime; The Lion King in Chicago is virtually all sold out.)
(Side observation: you want a great value in symphony tickets? That’s Detroit. $25 per person – and a trivial expense for onsite garage parking, and easy access from the burbs.)
But assuming that we’re not living an inappropriately-extravagant lifestyle, what do we do with the money? In the year 2015, it’s necessary to save — for retirement and for the kids’ college funds. Ironically, even though I work for a pension consulting firm, they’ve never offered a defined benefit pension plan; it’s a requirement to save, unless you believe that Christ calls us to the standard of living that comes from Social Security alone. So if you live non-extravagantly, but plow your savings, due to living below your means, into retirement funds rather than (only) into charitable donations, are you doing wrong? Or if, once you reach the age where your savings permits you to retire, if you choose to do so, rather than continuing to work, and donating the money you would have otherwise spent on yourself, are you doing wrong?
Sure, I’m overthinking this. And if you don’t believe that scripture is of any relevance, then you’re probably not the audience for this post. But: what do you think?
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