“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1-2 ESV).
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world” (C.S. Lewis).
I don’t mean to sound like a “Scrooge,” but I say, “Bah, humbug!” to overspending this Christmas.
Have you noticed that the more you spend, the less you are actually satisfied? There seems to be a crazy countering equation at work here. Once basic needs are met, spending on ourselves has ever diminishing results. Like a drug addict, our self consumption requires more and more spending to get the same effect.
How do we break this addiction? Simple. Or should I say, “Simplify.” Start simplifying your life. Live beneath your means. Don’t go into debt. Give your presence this Christmas, instead of more presents. Be with friends and family. Sing Christmas carols. Eat good food and tell the story of Immanuel, God with us.
So, what do you do with the money you don’t spend? Invest it in the Kingdom. That’s the only way to experience real satisfaction. Stop being a consumer, a taker, and start being a giver. Stop buying worldly things that will never satisfy, and start investing in eternal things.
Start a new family tradition this Christmas. Spend less and give more. Satisfaction guaranteed.
True that.