Frugalebrities
They call them “frugalebrities”—celebrities who know the value of a dollar.
- Actress Hillary Swank sees coupons as “a dollar in my pocket.”
- Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar says, “I clip coupons all the time. Why should you pay more for something that someone else is paying less for?”
- 7’2” NBA center, Roy Hibert tries to “live modestly” by clipping coupons and looking for deals. When dining out he says, “Going to restaurants, I make sure if I have a coupon, I use it.”
- Actresses Renee Zellweger and Halle Berry, singer Nicole Scherzinger, and talk show host Elizabeth Hasselbeck all claim to value frugality and look for “deals” when shopping for groceries, household items, etc.
Poverty is not a prerequisite to frugality. The scriptural call to good stewardship is to all us, regardless of our socio-economic status. You can be poor as dirt, yet waste every one of the few pennies you have. Conversely, you can be rich as a king, yet live by the principles of moderation and frugality. As one blogger put it, “A good steward lives generously, while using money in the most efficient way possible in their circumstances.”
“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” (Proverbs 21:20).
Eyes on the Back of God's Head
When a lion or tiger wants to hunt its prey, it relies on the element of surprise. They seldom approach their pray from the front, because once observed, they've ruined that element of surprise, making the hunt and ultimate victory more difficult. Once observed, the big cats often give up and retreat.
In Africa, to protect themselves from lions and tigers, people wear masks with prominent eyes on the back of their heads and even paint large eyes on the back of their livestock, hoping the vicious cats will be confused, finding no clear path for surprise, and simply give up the hunt.
These big, predatory big cats will often change their behavior when they realize they are being watched.
Our great big, ominicient God has, so to speak, eyes on the back of his head. He is always watching us. Ought not this truth cause us to change our behavior? We cannot fool Him, hide our sin from Him, nor surprise Him with our sin. He sees all and knows all.
Next time you think no one is watching, just look up (and look inward!). Give up the pursuit of whatever it is you are tempted to do.
"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3, NKJV).
"Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ..." (Psalm 139:7, NIV).
The Church -- God's Superorganism
Ants are everywhere. They thrive in forests, fields, deserts, and cities all over the planet. Their secret to success is that they all live and work together in highly organized communities, some of which have many millions of members.
Ants have the largest brains of any insects, but that doesn’t mean a single ant on its own is all that smart. As individual ants leave their nest in search for food, they walk in what appear to be random paths, hoping to come across something to eat. When an individual ant finds a food source, the ant will take a bit of the food back to the nest, leaving a trail of pheromones behind them to mark the path. Over time, ants organize their search, optimizing the best and shortest path between the food source and the nest. As more ants follow the optimal path back and forth, they leave more and more pheromones, which in turn attract more and more ants, creating a reinforcing efficiency effect. Over time, older ants gather more experience about the environment surrounding their nests, which makes it easier for them to forage effectively.
Even though individual ants can get smarter over time as they learn more about their surrounding environment, the real ant intelligence [and strength] is in the collective. They are so united toward the common purpose of growth and reproduction that they behave like a “superorganism.”
The Church -- the Body of Christ -- is not simply an institution, but rather a living organism. When the Body Christ functions as God intends, we become, like the ants, a superorgansim. Yes, we can be frutiful and grow stronger and more "spiritually" intellegent on our own. but, also like the ants, our real strength, our real intellegence is in the collective.
So many reasons, as Scripture encourages us, to, "Look to the ant ... consider her ways!" (Proverbs 6:6)"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another" (Romans 12:4-5, ESV).
"From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:6, ESV).