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Bible Questions
Answered:
“...being
a good steward, I always thought of money, but I guess it really
applies to anything we have...”
Ben/
Midland, Virginia U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
The
word is frugal.
Frugality:
The
quality of being economical with money or food; thriftiness:
Bing.Com
Frugality:
The
quality of being frugal, or prudent in saving; the lack of
wastefulness:
Dictionary.Com
God's
People Are To Be Frugal (A
few examples).
Associations
(Frugal in our friendships):
Proverbs 23:20,21 NLT
20
Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons,
21
for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them
in rags.
II
Corinthians 6:17 KJV
Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith The Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
Desires
(Frugal, with our longings):
Luke 12:15,22-31 KJV
15
And He said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a
man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth.
22
And He said unto His disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no
thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what
ye shall put on.
23
The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24
Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither
have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye
better than the fowls?
25
And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one
cubit?
26
If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye
thought for the rest?
27
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and
yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these.
28
If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to
morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye
of little faith?
29
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be
ye of doubtful mind.
30
For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your
Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be
added unto you.
Giving
And Helping Others (Frugal with our help):
Proverbs 3:27,28 NLT
27
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your
power to help them.
28
If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back
tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”
Proverbs 11:24-26 KJV
24
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that
withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
25
The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be
watered also himself.
26
He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing
shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
II Corinthians 9:6 KJV
But
this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and
he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
I
John 3:17 KJV
But
whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and
shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love
of God in him?
Labor
(Frugal in our labor):
Proverbs 12:27 NLT
Lazy
people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make
use of everything they find.
Proverbs 18:9 NLT
A
lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.
Proverbs 30:25 KJV
The
ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the
summer;
Proverbs 31:27 KJV
She
looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread
of idleness.
Ephesians 4:28 KJV
Let
him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with
his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him
that needeth.
Pleasures
(Frugal in pleasure):
Proverbs
21:17 KJV
He
that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil
shall not be rich.
Galatians
5:19-21 NLT
19
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are
very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,
20
idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of
anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,
21
envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me
tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of
life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Luke
8:14 KJV
And
that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard,
go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this
life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Temperance
(Frugal with what we have):
Temperance:
Moderation
in action, thought, or feeling : restraint
Merrriam-Webster
Matthew 14:20 KJV
And
they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments
that remained twelve baskets full.
Matthew 15:37 KJV
And
they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken
meat that was left seven baskets full.
John 6:12,13 KJV
12
When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, Gather up the
fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
13
Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with
the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and
above unto them that had eaten.
Time
(Frugal in making the most of each moment):
Romans 13:11-14 NLT
11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late
it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now
than when we first believed.
12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation
will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and
put on the shining armor of right living.
13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent
lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild
parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living,
or in quarreling and jealousy.
14 Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of The
Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to
indulge your evil desires.
Ephesians 5:15,16 KJV
15
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Circumspectly:
watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent
unwilling to take risks:
Dictionary.com
Colossians
4:5 KJV
Walk
in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Wealth
(Frugal with riches):
Proverbs 21:20 NLT
The
wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.
Proverbs 29:3 NLT
The
man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but if he hangs around
with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted
Matthew 6:19-21 KJV
19
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Luke 15:11-13 KJV
11
And He said, A certain man had two sons:
12
And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the
portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his
living.
13
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and
took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance
with riotous living.
Luke 16:1-13 NLT (Parable of the Shrewd Manager)
1
Jesus told this story to His disciples: “There was a certain rich
man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came
that the manager was wasting his employer’s money.
2 So
the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about
you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’
3
“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me.
I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to
beg.
4
Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will
give me a home when I am fired.’
5
“So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come
and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you
owe him?’
6
The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the
manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400
gallons.’
7
“‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man.
‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’
the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’
8
“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so
shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more
shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of
The
Light.
9
Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and
make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome
you to an eternal home.
10
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in
large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be
honest with greater responsibilities.
11
And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you
with the true riches of heaven?
12
And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should
you be trusted with things of your own?
13
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the
other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and be enslaved to money.”
I Timothy 6:17-19 NLT
17
Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to
trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be
in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
18
Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good
works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with
others.
19
By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good
foundation for the future so that they may experience true Life.
Wisdom
(Frugal in using):
Genesis 41:25-36 NLT
25
Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing.
God is telling Pharaoh in advance what He is about to do.
26
The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both
represent seven years of prosperity.
27
The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin
heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of
famine.
28
“This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed
to Pharaoh in advance what He is about to do.
29
The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout
the land of Egypt.
30
But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all
the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the
land.
31
This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years
will be erased.
32
As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have
been decreed by God, and He will soon make them happen.
33
“Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put
him in charge of the entire land of Egypt.
34
Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them
collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years.
35
Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are
just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away,
and guard it so there will be food in the cities.
36
That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine
come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the
land.”
Prayer:
Luke 14:25-33 NLT (The Cost of Being a Disciple)
25 A
large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them,
26
“If you want to be My disciple, you must, by comparison, hate
everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers
and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be My
disciple.
27
And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be
My disciple.
28
“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin
construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see
if there is enough money to finish it?
29
Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out
of money, and then everyone would laugh at you.
30
They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and
couldn’t afford to finish it!’
31
“Or what king would go to war against another king without first
sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of
10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him?
32
And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of
peace while the enemy is still far away.
33
So you cannot become My disciple without giving up everything you
own.
