Splurge is an interesting word. It means to spend money freely or extravagantly. Is it ever okay for disciples of our Lord Jesus to do this? 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 suggested that prioritizing how we spend our money is important. Being careful not to overspend, being generous, and tithing are all important principles. For those who tend toward strict discipline or even legalism, all of this lends itself to thinking that any sort of purchase that is in any way extravagant or not strictly needed would be at least suspect or might even be wasteful and wrong. But is this always the case?
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” and treated him as if he had never violated his family’s trust, welcoming him back from his long self-imposed absence with open arms. The son left without so much as a “thank you” and returned in disgrace, but his father held none of that against him. The prodigal son asked to be treated as a hired servant, but his father splurged on his son by throwing him a feast and restoring to him the rights and privileges of sonship. This act of merciful kindness irritated and offended the elder son, who did not understand what seemed to him to be a reward for unfaithfulness.
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! Paul wrote the following to let us know that God’s extravagance continues to this day and into eternity.
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8:32 (NASB95)
If he already gave us the very most expensive gift he has, why would we think he would be stingy with us going forward?
God’s nature is that it brings him joy to splurge on his loved ones when doing so will not somehow do harm to us.
Should we be surprised if God gave us something extravagant? Not I.
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. Some disciples live a very basic lifestyle, denying themselves so they can give extravagantly to others, especially to God’s ongoing work of worldwide kingdom expansion. This is a free choice, not a law.
And if the Lord 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 and even beyond.
Such gifts may come through 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. We should be careful not to judge others in this matter.
How can we tell when splurging is simply wasteful and when it brings joy to God’s heart? It is impossible to establish a rule for this. The minute we try to do so, we have entered the dark and joyless world of legalism. 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 understand his father’s joyful extravagance when he splurged on his wayward son who had finally come home. He judged his father’s actions to be improper because he did not understand the nature of God heart and grace. We should be alert to avoid falling into the same trap.
If we routinely spend extravagantly or even wastefully, it is probable that we are not in line with God’s heart. However, if we rule out all expressions of “splurging,” we may miss out on some of God’s best gifts.
