FRUGALITY AND SELF DISCIPLINE

We are living in a time when spirituality is declining. It has been declining for well over a hundred and fifty years, as primitivism continues to gain ground. Primitivism leads to idolatry. Idolatry thrives when there is a lack of spirituality. Man must worship something and primitive man is not a deep thinker, therefore, he can worship only what he sees. He cannot form concepts and think spiritually.

A nation can live for a time on its spiritual capital, but after a time this capital will be squandered away and there is nothing left to build upon and things will begin to decay. Spirituality is the most important thing to any nation. It is more important than the food that we eat. Without spiritual life, there will be death both spiritually and physically. Most people do not think that accounting has anything to do with spirituality, but it does.

A business possesses life. The lifeblood of business is cash flow. A business must have more come in the door than goes out. Accounting for the transactions of a business determines whether the business is healthy (life) or sick (death). This is the purpose of a profit and loss statement. It is a spiritual (health) checkup. Auditors make a statement whether a business is a going concern. This means is the business going to continue to live or is it dying by having to declare bankruptcy?

Frugality is a spiritual characteristic. Either you possess it or you do not. Most people do not because frugality only operates under the premise of self discipline. Being frugal means that you understand finance and the financial world. Understanding is spiritual. No plan will work unless there is a concerted effort to make it work. Concerted effort is accomplished by someone disciplining themselves to achieve their plan.

Wherever there is frugality, you will find a self controlled individual. Frugality only works under this condition. To live within one’s means requires that the individual controls his spending. He does not spend money that he does not have. If he wants something that is beyond his financial means, then he will save his money until he can afford the purchase price. The wise are frugal and self disciplined. One leads to the other and you cannot have one without the other.