At Home with Susan
Monthly Column by Susan Sikes

A few years ago, we took a family vacation to Chicago. I can remember my husband driving around forever on an empty tank of gas because he refused to pay $2.00 a gallon. Luckily we found it for $1.99 before we ran out! With the price of gas now over $3.00, it seems as if we need to take a closer look at how we are spending our money and using our resources. We must be good stewards of the things the Lord gives us, both in the physical and the spiritual realm.

Several years ago, I read one of Emilie Barnes’ books where she mentioned how much water is wasted just while brushing your teeth. I have no idea why most of us feel the need to leave the water running while we brush our teeth. I have even walked out of the room for a minute and left it running. I decided to put this to the test. I left the water running at a medium pace and collected the wasted water that continually ran. I got exactly one gallon of water. I was amazed at that amount, but shocked when I started adding it up. At the time, my daughter was still living at home, so there were four of us. I averaged one gallon per person and multiplied that by two (times a day) multiplied by seven (times a week). We were wasting an average of 56 gallons per week. At the time of this experiment we were in drought conditions! Not very good use of the Lord’s resources!

Every time I brush my teeth now, I remember how much I could be wasting. This got me to thinking about all of the other areas that I may be wasteful around the house or with my family’s money. Take a look at some of the things I came across:

• Starbuck Tall Mocha $3.50 x 52 (just 1 per week) = $182.00 for one year of coffee for one person
• 2 Liter Soft Drinks $1.29 x 3 a week x 52 weeks = $201.24 for soft drinks
• Bottled Water $1.00 x 5 per week x 52 weeks = $260.00 for water that we already pay for (one person)

There are other examples that I don’t have totals for such as all of the paper plates used instead of washing a dish, used copy paper that isn’t recycled for later use, wasted left-over food, and of course all the gas used when we don’t think about our extra trips and errands. All of these little things tend to add up to large totals. We just don’t see the totals because it is a gradual process.

"When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted'" (John 6:12).

There are things that add up in the spiritual areas of our lives also. We may hold onto just a small piece of anger or jealousy, but the interest grows rapidly. Before you know it, you can have a full grudge against someone with hatred in your heart. Lack of forgiveness works the same way. It builds up and is so much harder to get rid of after you have held onto it for a while. Just like monetary items, these are gradual processes.

On a positive note, there are many spiritual things that add up to your benefit. Take the fruit of the Spirit as an example. When you possess and use love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, they multiply. When you first begin to use them your supply may be lacking somewhat. However, in God’s mathematics, using them causes them to increase. This is quite different from the world’s calculations.

"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing"
(2 Thessalonians 1:2-4).

Whether you look at the physical or the spiritual, the positive or the negative, keep in mind the gradual increases that will come. We are called to be good stewards of the things the Lord gives us whether it is a $3.00 a gallon tank of gas or a portion of patience. Use it all wisely!

© 2008 by Susan Sikes