Parish Buying
Are you good at spending?
A guy bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas. After hearing about this extravagant gift, a friend of his said, “I thought she wanted one of those sporty four-wheel-drive vehicles.” “She did,” he replied. “But where was I going to find a fake Range Rover?”
What does it mean to be a good spender? The guy in the story above probably isn’t a good example as good spending is more than creating a mirage. Good spending means good stewardship. Yet many of us have spent more time thinking about our giving than our spending. Here are a few pointers to consider in relation to being good stewards in our spending….
- Good spending will be consistent with our values. Given our values are personal, this might mean buying Fairtrade, organic, locally produced or locally purchased goods. Ethical buying may mean that we don’t buy the cheapest product we can find.
- Good spending will consider the environmental impact of our purchase, and do so holistically – considering manufacture, transportation and packaging as well as use.
- Good spending will consider the long term, rather than focus solely on the short term.
- Will we use it? One definition of a bargain is something we can’t use at a price we can’t resist! Most of us have items that we’ve purchased but never used.
- Finally, we can pray for wisdom in making major purchases, just as we might pray about a significant job or house move. As stewards, all that we have belongs to God, and financial decisions have implications on other things we are able to achieve with the financial resources entrusted to us.
You might like to know that the Church of England has recently launched a site to help parishes be better stewards in their spending – to be able to save money, but also to help parishes to spend in accordance with their values. Have a look at http://www.parishbuying.org.uk/ , hopefully you will find this to be a valuable resource in supporting your spending decisions.
