Finding Balance - Faith and Stuff

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This is the second post of the series Finding Balance. Read the first post here. And look for the final post in the series tomorrow!

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:25-27, 31-33 (NLT)

I came to a place in my life where I was doing these things that are considered frugal, and trying to live a frugal lifestyle, but not feeling great about the fact that I was still focused on consuming a lot of STUFF. I felt torn between wanting to live my life in a way that was most glorifying to God and still wanting to live frugally, being wise with the resources that God had entrusted our family with.

I began to open up my Bible more than I had been (because I was so busy cutting coupons, searching the internet and trying to find the best deals) and found passages that spoke so clearly and specifically to me about this very thing. The above passage is a really well known passage, and mostly it's quoted when talking about not worrying, but I read it in a new way as I read it in context with other verses around it (Matt. 6:19-21, 24, Matt. 7: 7-8, 11) and as I thought about what it was saying about how I should be living my life, not just what I shouldn't be doing.

I also read a few books (and am continuing to read) that challenged my understanding of how I live out my faith in my life and what it looks like to truly be a follower of Christ. Two of those books were Serve God, Save the Planet and The Irresistible Revolution. I listened to the sermon series God is Green from Mars Hill Church, and since I love to read other blogs, I found several that encouraged me in this area as well.

God began to develop within me a broader view of what it means to be a good steward His resources. Stewardship is often thought of only in the context of our financial resources, but our finances are not the only resources that God has entrusted us with. He has also given us our bodies, our time, and this earth. I believe glorifying God with my life encompasses Godly stewardship in all four of these areas, not only our finances. I realized that while I may have been able to save a lot of money on groceries and household items by cutting coupons and stockpiling, in turn, I was wasting resources in the amount of time I was spending, the kind of food I was buying that was not the best for my or my families' bodies, and the amount of earthly resources I was consuming and the large amount of waste I was creating.

God was laying out a new direction for my life. He was leading me to really look at the way that I was living and began to show me and teach me to live in a way that was more glorifying to Him. I recognized that I needed to find a balance in my stewardship of His resources.