Splurge is an interesting word. It means to spend money freely or extravagantly.
The basic premise of this series on how disciples should properly handle money is that we are accountable to God for what we do with the finances he puts into our hands.
I have emphasized prioritizing how we spend our money, being careful not to overspend, being generous, and tithing. All of this lends itself to thinking that any sort of purchase that is in any way extravagant or not strictly needed might be at least suspect or even wasteful and wrong.
Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son is a story of how a son wasted his inheritance in an immoral and unwise spending spree that left him impoverished. A revealing element of the story is the way his father welcomed him home. He basically threw out the red carpet, treating him as if he had never violated his family’s trust, welcoming him back from his long self-imposed absence. The son left without so much as a “thank you” and returned in disgrace, but his dad did not hold that against him. He splurged on his son by throwing him a feast and restoring to him his rights and privileges as a son. This act of merciful kindness irritated and offended the elder son, who did not understand this type of extravagance.
God is very much like the father in the parable. He splurged on us by sending his only begotten Son to die on behalf of his enemies.
God could not have given a more expensive gift to a more undeserving and ungrateful people!
God’s nature is that he chooses to splurge on his loved ones.
Would you be surprised if God gave you something extravagant? Not I.
Some disciples live a very basic lifestyle so they can give extravagantly to others, especially to God’s ongoing work of worldwide kingdom expansion. God wants us to keep the fires of extravagant giving alive in our hearts, because that is who he is. That is who he wants us to be, too. And if he wants to splurge on us, we should not be surprised, taken aback, or refuse the gift.
It is our Lord’s delight many times to give us the desire of our hearts.
Such gifts may come from others, but sometimes he might prompt us to spend extravagantly on ourselves. It always comes down to what is in our hearts and God’s.
How can we tell when splurging is simply wasteful and when it brings joy to God’s heart? I do not think it will always be apparent, especially not to others. The recipient of such a gift may understand that God is fulfilling some deep longing of the heart, but outsiders may think that it is wasteful. The prodigal son’s elder brother did not get it. He judged his father’s extravagance to be improper because he did not understand God’s nature. We must not fall into the same trap.
If we routinely spend extravagantly or even wastefully, it is probable we are not in line with God’s heart. However, if we try rule out all expressions of “splurging,” we may miss out on God’s best gifts.
To access the entire series on the Disciple and Money, click here.
