The Fine Line Between Thrifty and Stingy

Maybe you have noticed this in your own life: any good thing--when taken to an extreme--can quickly become a bad thing. And knowing where the good ends and where the bad begins is critical.

There is an extremely fine line between:

Passion and anger.
Realism and pessimism.
Funny and annoying.
Thrifty and stingy.
Drive and recklessness.
Creativity and laziness.
Confidence and arrogance.
Curiosity and addiction.

It's easy to think that, just because our strengths and abilities were given to us by God, that we're able to properly use them on our own without his help, input, or direction. But that's not true. Each of us, left to our own devices, will likely take our unique personalities and penchants past the point of healthy and into the realm of unhealthy...or even sinful.

Leaders easily become bosses. Helpers easily become meddlers. Go-getters easily become aggressive.

You probably know the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10. There's no doubt that Martha's desire to be hospitable was a good thing...I'm sure it was naturally a part of her being. But, in this instance, Martha crossed that fine line. I mean, Jesus was sitting in her living room and she was in the kitchen chopping potatoes. It's not that hospitality is wrong, it was just that Martha took it too far.

I guess the question for me--and maybe for you, too--is, "Have I left the creator of my gifts completely out of the process of using them?" If so, there's a distinct possibility that they aren't being used in the way that he intended.