Which is it?

Affordable or avoidable?

As I watch the way some people live I keep asking "Is that an affordable or avoidable cost?"

When I was thinking about this piece, I imagined people saying/thinking why does she watch people? And God gave me a double-edged answer from His word which is a double-edged sword.

Proverbs 6: 6 - 8 - ⁶ You lazy people, you should watch what the ants do and learn from them. ⁷ Ants have no ruler, no boss, and no leader. ⁸ But in the summer, ants gather all of their food and save it. So when winter comes, there is plenty to eat. (ERV)

The first answer was that, He's asked us to watch and learn from the ants. Have you tried watching an army of ants?
Well I have and it's hard work. Yes, it is and no, that's not me in the picture...

Then He continued..."watching & learning from people is easier - so good job daughter."

Now the other thing that I then learned from these Bible verses ties nicely with the topic.

The ants "save" so they can "afford" a lot to eat over the winter. Sadly, I see people who just spend or scatter their resources rather than judiciously save. I'm not saying that spending money is bad. in my opinion, it's only bad - actually very, very bad when you are spending in order to be like the "Joneses" - whether or not you can afford it. Then the next level of "badness" i.e. "badest" is when you cannot even afford it & rather than avoid the expense, you spend/scatter your resources just to be like others.

I spent a lot of time with a really nice lady recently - let's call her "Mrs O." We were talking about how sad we are when we see people who are living above their means just to be like the Joneses. I mean the fact that I have something today doesn't mean I bought it yesterday. We each have our own story. I was sharing with her about our home and how many years it's taken us to get it to where it is today. We definitely didn't buy everything on Day 1 - as I know some people do... well good for them. We decided that we didn't need everything on the same day and so took our time to "furnish" our home like Proverbs 24: 3-4 says

"^3-4 It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation; It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with fine furniture and beautiful draperies." (MSG)

As you spend, ask yourself "Is it affordable or avoidable?" I mean do you really, really, really need it? Like the ant, there are times you need to spend in the "summer" so you can "save" in the winter - yes, e.g. buying things off season at lower/clearance prices rather than at full price. However, still ask yourself "Is it affordable or avoidable?" Above all, be content with what you have today because what you don't have today, you may be able to afford and/or have it tomorrow - if the Lord so wills.