Tomorrow I finish my last day of teaching an Eschatology class at Baptist Bible College of the Caribbean (final exam is Friday). It’s been a wonderful experience, but my energy is usually low on the ride home.
During the first few classes I stopped at a local supermarket to buy a coke ($3.50 East Caribbean dollars, $1.30 US), and often stopped at another one to buy some cakes on the way in for $2.00 EC.
This isn’t a lot obviously, the cakes and coke are just over $2 a day! And after a solid morning of teaching, I definitely deserve the treat.
But other than one pack of cookies for $2 East Caribbean dollars, I haven’t spent any money on snacks.
This isn’t because I couldn’t afford it……
It’s because ministering to others with that money is a far better investment.
- Last weekend I drove a friend to an area two-hours away because he needed to meet people there, and public transport doesn’t go that far often
- Saturday I’m taking some young people on a celebration trip for graduating from High School. We will have a nice meal (my treat of course), drive up to the other side of the island, and take lots of pictures
- And Friday I’m taking the college students out for their traditional meal celebrating the end of our class
Obviously road trips, celebrations, and lunches are amazing ministry opportunities. But they also cost money.
Because ministry costs money, I therefore choose to live simply.
Living simply is just a nicer way of saying cheap :-). It means living without things like coke, cookies, or ice-cream so that more money can be given towards others.
Living simply is difficult sometimes. But the rewards of being invested in others is well worth the sacrifice.
The four hour drive with a friend gave us lots of time to talk about what the Lord is doing in our lives, and what He wanted us to do in the future. We spent almost a whole tank of gas, but the conversation itself was well worth the money spent.
Things like coke and cookies aren’t sinful, but they’re gone in a moment. Investing our money in helping others draw closer to the Lord will outlive our earthy influence.
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