Spending Money on Pleasure - Part 2

How much can I spend on my pleasure and how can I justify it to myself so I can sleep at night?

This is not the right question. The right question sounds more like, “How could I possibly give more to mission?” or, “How could I learn to be content with less so that the kingdom may advance more rapidly?” or “Could I eat out less, so I could do more to feed the hungry?”

Those are the right questions. I’m not sure they are the questions we are asking… yet. We are asking something more like, “How much do I have to give in order to ease my conscience concerning spending the rest on pleasure, comfort, security and status for myself and those who are an extension of myself, my family?”

After some reflection, here is a glib summary-statement of what quiets my conscience in this matter. “If it feels good do it.”

This is God’s advice with our giving toward the poor and the church and I think it can apply across the board.

2Co 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

This divine mandate establishes a budget priority for God’s people.
As our giving is to be calculated to produce joy and not stress…

2Co 8:13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.

…so all our spending should fall into line behind this priority. This is a “feeling” issue, but it is a feeling born out of hard facts. This of course begs for a family budget as an expression of long-term, joy-producing priorities.

The more accurate your budget, the more you will be able to enjoy generosity and meaningful contribution as well as pleasure-spending, within the confines of your income. A budget is meant to serve you in the production of joy and the reduction of guilt and anxiety.

Ac 20:35 It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Hudson Taylor discovered this and called it his “Spiritual Secret”. He learned to live with the absolute least, in order to give as much as he could. He found that the more he gave, the more joy he received. This is how he proved his faith and God’s sufficiency all at once. His story is compelling.

And this is, at least in part, the reward referred to in the verse that precedes the encouragement to give cheerfully: (2Co 9:6) Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Try this. Take ten minutes (or more depending on the state of your financial records) and calculate what you spend on pure pleasure in a month or a year.

Look at your credit card and bank statement and ask, “What did I spend on myself and my family for pure pleasure?” These things are not evil, but more joy will be produced when you keep in mind your annual pleasure budget and weigh it against your annual giving budget. In accordance with true hedonism ask, “What brings maximum joy?”

By this you will discern priorities and see where change is necessary in order to live out joyful submission to God in his continual presence rather than intentionally forgetting him every time you are considering purchasing pleasure and living with a vague sense of remorse and insecurity afterward.

With all the facts in mind and priorities that lie open before the lord, each of us can make unique decisions that maximize our joy in the financial department of our lives.

So the process of how to enjoy when spending looks like this:

1. Analyze & justify before the lord.
Does this square with a budget designed to maximize my joy considering my long-term (eternal) priorities?

2. Enjoy the planning stage

3. Enjoy what you have planned and stop analyzing.(for now)

Unexpected expenses and community needs will always produce situational challenges, but even these can be made more joyful if we have left some breathing room in our budget. Knowing these things will come along.

Could my money afford more joy than I am receiving from the pleasure, convenience, security and status I am currently considering?
Could I be richer toward God? (Luke 12:21)

Could He receive more glory, the kingdom be further advanced, the church more assuredly built up, treasure more certainly stored where loss does not occur, if I scrutinized and calculated my pleasure spending with the same forethought I use when calculating my offering and charity?

Is there a balance between my pleasure spending and my giving that produces in me a shared joy with God and others as opposed to selfish temporary escapism that leaves doubt?

There are more questions to ask, but I will stop here for now.