Sirach 29:21-28: Frugality
Friday, September 5, 2025
Frugality has earned the unhappy reputation of stinginess; and yet in its purest sense frugality means prudence in the avoidance of waste. Each time we throw out food because we do not like leftovers, each time we buy a pair of shoes we really do not need, each time we hoard something away so that we will have it when others do not, we use something that someone else might have used better. This is an extravagance that the faithful cannot afford. It is an excessiveness that makes it impossible for us to find serenity. It is an injustice that works against kingdom-building.
When I become impatient with God’s timing – wanting results to arrive more rapidly, wishing events would move more swiftly – I am reminded by God’s pace and stamina that God is teaching us to practice prudence in the avoidance of waste. God is showing us a productive and generous kind of frugality; and in his infinite wisdom God knows that when we have something before we can fully appreciate it, we will likely waste the benefit.
Healthy contests that pit equals against one another are good for all of us, individually and collectively. Creativity, critical thinking, and industrious behavior are essential if society is to move ahead; but in all of the bustle of the marketplace we must keep in mind that in the end . . . life’s prime needs are water, bread, and clothing, a house, too . . . and that frugality is prudence in the avoidance of waste.
There are many isms in our world: capitalism, communism, socialism, favoritism, entrepreneurialism, dominionism, fascism, patriotism, and on and on. Each of these attitudes has something to bring to a discussion – and the practice – of how we humans co-exist. Each has advantages and disadvantages, each has pitfalls and pluses. Some of these isms teach us stinginess; none will teach us frugality. None can bring us stability, dependability, or union with others we trust implicitly. None can bring us what we really seek – peacefulness, reliability, contentment with ourselves and the world.
And so we pray . . .
Generous and caring God, we need your constant guidance to remind us to share the essentials of life.
When we work over-long hours to the neglect of our family to finance an extravagant lifestyle, we have moved off the path that leads to serenity. Tell us to wrap up the work and go home.
When we hoard goods and refuse to share with those who have less than we, we have somehow been lured away from the light and into the darkness. Remind us that the world has enough resources for all if we share.
When we begin to think that five bathrooms and four vehicles are a necessity, we have slipped away from reality. Ask us to share the planet’s storehouse prudently.
When we have become stingy in the name of frugality, we have ceased listening to your voice. Call to us again in a way we cannot miss.
Life’s prime needs are water, bread, and clothing, a house, too. Let us share what we have prudently, let us avoid wasting the bounty your creation unfolds for us, and let us practice the same generosity you so lovingly pour out on us. Amen.
A re-post from August 14, 2011.
Image from: http://www.paintinghere.com/painting/Monet’s_Garden_at_argenteuil_4980.html
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