So, I went out for coffee/shopping with a friend this morning and she took me to one of her favourite boutiques. I was in dress heaven. You have to understand, being 6ft tall it's not easy to find a dress that fits well, and also meets all my modest dress code requirements. So anyway, I try on a bunch of different dresses and found one I just LOVED, but it was ludicrously expensive and so, I resisted the urge to buy it! You might wonder what this has to do with anything, but trust me, I do have a point.
I've recently found myself 'single' for want of a better term and as such my priorities and outlook on life has changed completely to what it used to be. In fact, for the first time in almost 9 years I've made choices on my own only having to consider my own feelings. I've made plans for my life to do things I WANT to do, travel, study, get a new career...all positive things for sure. However, even with my newfound attitude of 'hey, you know what? I'm gonna do something for ME for a change' I still couldn't bring myself to spend $379 on a dress. Yet my long-term single friends think nothing of this kind of shopping spree. For the first time in my life I actually considered, and contemplated for more than a fleeting moment purchasing the dress.
This experience has made me wonder about the different perspectives we all have on things like finances and how that changes when we no longer only have ourselves to consider. I don't find my friends irresponsible, and maybe it's just a personal thing, that I think there are better things I could spend $379 on than a cute dress, but hey, if you have the disposable income, is there really anything wrong with it? God wants us to be responsible stewards of what we have right? I would never have even considered spending that much money on a dress before, yet today, I genuinely gave the notion serious thought and then still thought better of it. Why?
Who decides 'what' is responsible? If there's nothing wrong with 'splurging' why couldn't I bring myself to buy the dress? Why was I facing a raging internal battle of rationalisation with my conscious when all around me people were whipping out their credit cards left, right and centre without a second thought?
I guess the question I'm asking is do you think our perspectives on 'responsible choices' change depending on where we are in life? Do different things become our priority, and if so why? Shouldn't God be our first priority single or not? Everything else should come after that. And tell me, does God really care how much we spend on a cute new dress if our heart for Him is in the right place? Am I the only one who has ever spent 15 minutes in a store fitting room arguing with her internal self about why it would be irresponsible to spend so much money on a new dress?
This isn't about justifying my decision to not buy the dress, but rather about what we see as our priorities. If I can 'comfortably afford' to lash out on such a lavish purchase, why would I have such a battle of conscious over it? Is it really an issue of responsibility and level-headedness or is it more than that?
Over the last 12 months my entire outlook on life has changed and as I've found myself facing some huge mountains, I've had to make some huge life-altering choices, some difficult, some not so difficult, but still, massive choices nonetheless. Yet, today as I write this seemingly shallow post about a cute but supremely overpriced dress, I find myself wondering why something that should be such a simple decision was so difficult for me to make? Of all the choices we make in life, and I wrestle with how much money to spend on a dress? I realised that even though I can now make choices and need only consider myself in the process (rather than a spouse/partner or any other person who might be significant in my life), that it doesn’t mean I suddenly become flippant and make decisions contrary to what my former self would have made, even though I easily could have.
I observed my friend today buy her dress for around the same price and think nothing of it. Sure, she can afford it, and it was a super-cute dress and looked great on her, but it made me wonder what is the point in all of this? Weren’t we created for something bigger than lavishly splurging our hard-earned cash on cute dresses we really don’t need?
The more I write in this post the more I realise I’m not entirely sure what the actual exact point is that I’m trying to make, since it seems I have a million thoughts swirling around inside my brain all at once, but I guess I just felt I had to share my experience with you all today. I guess I felt somewhat superficial in that store today and wondered if it’s just me or the fact I’m getting older that I had such a difficult time today. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
I've recently found myself 'single' for want of a better term and as such my priorities and outlook on life has changed completely to what it used to be. In fact, for the first time in almost 9 years I've made choices on my own only having to consider my own feelings. I've made plans for my life to do things I WANT to do, travel, study, get a new career...all positive things for sure. However, even with my newfound attitude of 'hey, you know what? I'm gonna do something for ME for a change' I still couldn't bring myself to spend $379 on a dress. Yet my long-term single friends think nothing of this kind of shopping spree. For the first time in my life I actually considered, and contemplated for more than a fleeting moment purchasing the dress.
This experience has made me wonder about the different perspectives we all have on things like finances and how that changes when we no longer only have ourselves to consider. I don't find my friends irresponsible, and maybe it's just a personal thing, that I think there are better things I could spend $379 on than a cute dress, but hey, if you have the disposable income, is there really anything wrong with it? God wants us to be responsible stewards of what we have right? I would never have even considered spending that much money on a dress before, yet today, I genuinely gave the notion serious thought and then still thought better of it. Why?
Who decides 'what' is responsible? If there's nothing wrong with 'splurging' why couldn't I bring myself to buy the dress? Why was I facing a raging internal battle of rationalisation with my conscious when all around me people were whipping out their credit cards left, right and centre without a second thought?
I guess the question I'm asking is do you think our perspectives on 'responsible choices' change depending on where we are in life? Do different things become our priority, and if so why? Shouldn't God be our first priority single or not? Everything else should come after that. And tell me, does God really care how much we spend on a cute new dress if our heart for Him is in the right place? Am I the only one who has ever spent 15 minutes in a store fitting room arguing with her internal self about why it would be irresponsible to spend so much money on a new dress?
This isn't about justifying my decision to not buy the dress, but rather about what we see as our priorities. If I can 'comfortably afford' to lash out on such a lavish purchase, why would I have such a battle of conscious over it? Is it really an issue of responsibility and level-headedness or is it more than that?
Over the last 12 months my entire outlook on life has changed and as I've found myself facing some huge mountains, I've had to make some huge life-altering choices, some difficult, some not so difficult, but still, massive choices nonetheless. Yet, today as I write this seemingly shallow post about a cute but supremely overpriced dress, I find myself wondering why something that should be such a simple decision was so difficult for me to make? Of all the choices we make in life, and I wrestle with how much money to spend on a dress? I realised that even though I can now make choices and need only consider myself in the process (rather than a spouse/partner or any other person who might be significant in my life), that it doesn’t mean I suddenly become flippant and make decisions contrary to what my former self would have made, even though I easily could have.
I observed my friend today buy her dress for around the same price and think nothing of it. Sure, she can afford it, and it was a super-cute dress and looked great on her, but it made me wonder what is the point in all of this? Weren’t we created for something bigger than lavishly splurging our hard-earned cash on cute dresses we really don’t need?
The more I write in this post the more I realise I’m not entirely sure what the actual exact point is that I’m trying to make, since it seems I have a million thoughts swirling around inside my brain all at once, but I guess I just felt I had to share my experience with you all today. I guess I felt somewhat superficial in that store today and wondered if it’s just me or the fact I’m getting older that I had such a difficult time today. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
