The Cost of a Drip
Tackling the Little Things Eroding Our Soul
My parents are not allowed to read this post … Okay they can read it, just don’t get mad that I did something dumb.
A few months ago Melissa told me our apartment toilet was running. No big deal, we live in an apartment, and I can have the maintenance guy come and fix it pretty quick. Except I kept putting off the simple task of making a maintenance request. I did this for four months, it just got fixed yesterday.
Anyone older than 30 already knows where this is going, but if you’re younger than that pay attention, because this is a big deal. There’s this thing called a water bill, and it goes up the more you use the water, so for four months our toilet was running water 24/7 nonstop, and I wasn’t paying attention, and it cost me.
Reading this I know some boomer is going to look at my foolishness and say, didn’t you notice when you got the monthly water bill. Wrong again, because I hate doing bills. I loath doing bills, so I have a bad habit of just paying bills and not looking at previous months to see if the bill went up or if it’s the same as always. I just pay it quickly and move on with my day. Don’t judge me, we all have issues.
Last week I had a meeting with a church financial group to talk about church budgeting and creating an accounting system for a healthy church. If you don’t know nonprofit accounting is way more intense than business accounting. It’s not just profit and loss, you have to deal with designated funds, housing allowances, processes for unpaid volunteers who handle some of the money and even hold credit cards.
After that meeting I felt motivated to start looking at my personal finances and see if there were some changes we could make with our budget, and our earning to have stronger finances at home. I’m no Creflo Dollar, we’re not rolling in dough. We live in a two bedroom apartment (with 4 kids), and I make a modest income at a warehouse working nights. When you’re operating on a single income, every little bit counts.
I got home and decided to budget, and as I’m making the budget I come to my water bill, and discover that it has tripled. I went from paying $45/mo in January to $150/mo from March-June. That little drip in the toilet that I put off ended up costing me $400. I can think of a lot of things that I can do with an extra $400.
Little drips in life will often cost more than the big leaks, because their cost is often under the radar. This is where it’s important for us as Christians to take inventory of our souls and examine the hidden costs.
Little drips in life will often cost more than the big leaks, because their cost is often under the radar.
When I was in college I remember listening to a message from Dr. Gordon Anderson. He was sharing about a time he was counting offering at his small church (I don’t recommend pastors to count the offering, it’s better when you have a team of people who count so you can be accountable, but this was a different time).
After Dr. Anderson counted the offering, he wrote down the amount and sealed it in an envelope to bring to the bank, then he noticed a small coin on the ground that had dropped there while he was counting. It wasn’t huge, so he slipped the coin into his pocket, and as he did that he felt convicted because someone had given that coin, and before it went to his paycheck it was first given to God. It was a little thing, but he knew if he kept the coin it was a corruption of his character, so he took all the money out again to recount and get the balance right.
“The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much.” - Luke 16:10
Where are the little leaks in your life? Where are the small compromises you are making? Here’s some areas to check:
Your Relationship with God (Are you reading, praying, giving?)
Your Family (How’s your spouse, how are your kids, how are your parents?)
Your Relationship with God’s People (Are you disengaging from church?)
Your Finances (How are you spending your money?)
Your Attitude (A bad attitude can spoil your day or your life)
Your Time (Is it wasted, or invested?)
Your Purity (Pornography, Dating Relationships, etc.)
It’s important whether you are leading a church, leading your home, or just managing your life. Look at the leaks and work on them now before you find out later that little leaks come with great cost.
Resources
Here’s two resources that I use that have helped me with my finances, and with my time.
Every Dollar — this is a great budgeting app that helps you examine your income and expenses. It can also link to your bank account so you can track and sort all your transactions quickly and see where you are spending your money.
Brick — if you have an addiction to your phone Brick is great. It’s a little device that acts like a key locking certain apps on your phone. If you are going to work or study and don’t want to waste time scrolling TikTok, you can lock the app until you return home and use the key. It also let’s you lock your phone on go, so you can focus until you get home.