Parsimony

“Do not eat the food of a stingy man; do not crave his delicacies, for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.” Proverbs 23:6-7, NIV.

The language of those two verses is pretty graphic. It warns us not to envy the lifestyles of those who have become wealthy by being stingy and miserly and not to gain their favor by gushing over them. Theirs is a phony friendship, and they will undoubtedly end up using you for their gain.

I consider myself well-read even though I stumble across new words daily. My latest word today is parsimony; I am sure I have never seen that word before. The freedictionary.com website defines parsimony as “unusual or excessive frugality; extreme economy or stinginess.” Did you ever ask someone to help you with a project, resulting in his manner and attitude only making you miserable because of his stingy nature? You will most likely hesitate to ask that person for help again; thus, a stingy person’s moral and social health may be compromised. The verses above clearly steer us away from a stingy man.

Maybe you have been associated with someone who continually borrows ordinary everyday items – too stingy to purchase their own. Perhaps you have a friend or colleague who takes advantage of your generous nature, allowing you to spot them for a soda, sandwich, or even lunch too often. This behavior wears thin on relationships.

Along the same school of thought, the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy this way. “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” 1 Timothy 6:17-18, NIV.

Paul charged his protégé, Timothy, with being aware of the wealthy people of Ephesus. His role was to teach them to share their wealth without being arrogant in their giving. Most of us today may not have much money, but we all have something to give others. A little kindness can go a long way.

So, it is best not to be so tight-fisted with what we have, as everything is on loan from God. We must be good, do good, and share it all with a charitable heart. One of the best examples of stingy is the character Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer was tight-fisted, stingy, greedy, and cold-hearted. He despised anything that brought happiness to others. What a transformation erupted after the Three Ghosts of Christmas visited him. The story is quite an exaggeration in extremes and does a fantastic job depicting the contrast between stinginess and generosity.

Stingy, greedy, hoarding, and refusing to share to me represent a hole in someone’s character that is ever empty. Maybe this is the result of a lack of an authentic spiritual foundation or a lack of genuine compassion. Being stingy with your time, resources, and talents signals a core base of total selfishness.

God wants us to enjoy His blessings, and he wants us to use those blessings to make a difference in the world around us.

Considering the exorbitant prices of everything, from food to housing to transportation, it may force us to become penny-pinchers or parsimonious. However, we don’t want to develop that behavior as a personality trait. So, be a cheerful giver, whether material wealth, gifts of time, love, a hug, or a smile.

God’s Word teaches us to sow generously. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NIV.