In 1955 Cyril Parkinson published a humurous essay in the Economist which started with this statement: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. " In our modern day, this term has been adapted by many in the financial world to read, "expenditures rise to meet income" meaning that no matter how much wealth we build or how high our income rises, our expenditures will always rise a the same rate or even higher.
We see it everyday as we meet with people making hundreds of thousands of dollars but declaring that they are "broke." The issue is that it doesn't just cost money to buy a nicer car or nicer house; it costs even more money to keep them kept new. If you buy a new tv, well of course you have to buy a monthly cable service. And you can't just watch cable, you will have to watch movies because what is that nice big screen tv without the ability to watch Terminator 3?
Our culture has entrenched us to believe the lie that we have to continue to expand our lifestyle with our increase in income. Because we earned it, right?
Well, in the Bible, God encouraged His people, "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien."
Right there lies an amazing principle that I believe we have forgotten in our society: leaving the edges of our harvest for the poor.
You see, God has blessed us and given us more than we could ever hope to have, but He also encourages us to not max out our lifestyle so that others can eat too. Here at our church we use the phrase: Live simply, so that others might simply live.
We like to call it a financial finish line. This means setting a line in your salary or your income when enough is enough. And once you get here, guess what, you can start giving tons of money away.
So go ahead and try it out. What does your family really need? What is your financial finish line? Where are the edges of your harvest?
