Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Ephesians 4:28
“Once John Wesley, founder of Methodism, realized that his expenditures limited his ability to help, he decided to live a simple lifestyle in the hope that he might one day hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Wesley’s heart and mind were converted first. His purse was converted on a bitterly cold winter day when he reached into his pocket to give a shivering woman money to buy a coat. To his dismay, he realized that the did not have enough money to help her. He had bought pictures to put up on his walls earlier in the day, and the small amount of change he had left would not be enough to protect her from the cold. From that day forward, he limited his expenses so that he would not find himself again without the means to bless someone else.”
Harriet Bryan in Saving Grace: Hope-Filled Devotions Along the Way to Financial Well-Being (Nashville: Abingdon, 2020) 75-76.
Bryan goes on to offer these helpful thoughts for personal application.
“While I have not yet achieved the same level of frugality as John Wesley, I know the joy of helping others that comes from choosing to live on less than I earn. One of the questions I routinely ask myself (before purchasing an item or making a decision) is, “When I look back over my life, am I more likely to regret this decision or to be grateful for this decision>? The more often I ask myself this, the easier I find it to remember that God allows me to choose whether I will accept God’s offer of partnership and see and respond to the needs of others or whether I will rob myself of the joy by spending my money for what does not satisfy.”
Consider the example of Wesley today, and the inspiration of Bryan.
What limits can you set in order to create margin for greater generosity? How will you limit your spending, so that when you have an opportunity to serve as a Good Samaritan, you have the resources to release?
Heading home from Belize this afternoon. Appreciate your prayers for safe travel for me to USA, for Paula to Guatemala, for Ereny to Egypt, and for John to Jamaica. Thanks. Again, reply here if you want a copy of the trip report.