The way we spend now

Next month, we go on a much-anticipated vacation to Cape Town in South Africa. As we were searching online for places to stay and things to do, we considered how best to set a budget for the trip.  

It would be easy to justify staying in nice places and eating at nice restaurants:  we haven’t taken a vacation like this “in a long time”, we “need” a real break from Mwanza, and what if this is the “LAST trip we take before something BIG happens to change our lives FOREVER?” (For the record, there is nothing “big” to report at this time. It's entirely hypothetical.) 

But we were uncomfortable with giving ourselves a blank check. Because if we had to sum up in a few words, everything we’ve learned from living in Tanzania so far, it would be that we know more profoundly than ever before how much we have been given in this life.  And we know that to whom much has been given, much will be expected. 

So. What does this mean for our vacation budget and the way we spend on ourselves in general? We tend to consult a variety of sources on questions like these, over long periods of time. We recently had a discussion with two friends, a doctor and a professor, who have also lived in Mwanza, and appreciate their insights.

Their basic approach to spending is to live modestly, minimize accumulation of things, and avoid spending for personal comfort and luxury so that they can give more away. They do value opportunities to travel, and so make room in their budget for special trips and vacations. But even then, they opt for simple lodging and dining etc. 

One thing we’ve all considered is to match our travel/personal budgets with giving. While living in New York, we considered giving a dollar (on top of the tithe) for every one spent on clothes or eating out. We never did follow through on this, and before potentially doing so in the future would have to be careful not to let such a habit steer us towards legalism, but it’s certainly worth thinking about. 

For wisdom and discipline and generous hearts to all of us who have been given much, we pray.