"Spend Less And Give More"

Most of us base our charitable giving on what we have left over after living our lives. The Christians at Sojourners say we should should deprive ourselves so we can give more. Rachel Anderson writes:

The practice of economic discipleship has four parts: give thanks, spend justly, spend less and give more. Economic discipleship groups start with participants drawing up and sharing their household budgets. (Yes – people share real numbers with each other about household income and spending.) Members commit to personal lifestyle changes – eating out fewer times each month, walking rather than driving, avoiding impulse buys. Then groups select a recipient for a collective gift – drawn from the participants’ commitments to spend less. Altogether, the Lazarus groups have given away more than $100,000 to fund health care in Haiti, midwives in West Africa, and HIV/AIDS relief in Asia. In Boston, many participants are joining in a campaign to bring more ethically produced fair trade products to Boston – a way of working together to make our theme of “Spend Justly” more feasible.