“Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.” Ben Franklin supposedly said that, though I can’t exactly find a reference for the quote. Still, it does sound like the man who was known for pushing the virtues of frugality. I’ll leave aside the fact that later in his life, he certainly did not live a frugal life, but imbibed in the excesses of drink, women and money. The concept has merit, whether he wrote it or not.
He certainly did write “In short, the Way to Wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the Way to Market. It depends chiefly on two Words, Industry and Frugality; i.e. Waste neither Time nor Money, but make the best Use of both. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all he gets (necessary Expenses excepted) will certainly become Rich.”
And also ” I have not indeed yet thought of a Remedy for Luxury” in a letter to Benjamin Vaughn, written from France, 26 July 1784. In that letter, and at other times, he actually wanted to tax luxury items highly, believing that people will still buy them, hence the revenue from the item would benefit the nation. And, the pursuit of luxury items could also help bring an industriousness to citizens.
I am not sure that is necessarily true, the challenges of wealth and money are constant. We want more. We don’t believe we have enough. Heck, today in America, our sickness is such that people making six figure incomes continue to claim that they are middle class. Sigh. No wonder prices continue to rise.
John Piper’s team at Desiring God wrote about this recently, with four good guiding questions to consider as you deal with your money:
1. Is my spending marked by Christian generosity?
2. What does my spending say about what makes me most happy?
3. Does my spending suggest I’m collecting for this life?
4. Is my spending explicitly supporting the spread of the gospel?
So, think, pray and consider. Franklin is certainly on the right track, to wit, you will never be satisfied with things. The more you have, the more you will want. The new thing you bought will look old quickly and the newer thing, sort of just like your new thing, will tempt you. So, instead, as Jesus suggested, lay up your treasure in heaven. That is partially done by using your money here, not for things or merely for yourself but rather spent on others. Think about it….certainly will impact your life.