Stop Being So Cheap

....I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.

1 Samuel 24:24

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I hope you and yours were grateful, stayed safe, and enjoyed each other. Yesterday was a day for family, food, fun and FOOTBALL.

However, BOTH of the football games on yesterday were pretty, ummm....terrible. Poor Cowboys.

But I did enjoy listening to the commentators opine on the various teams, the playoff race, and state of the league. One of the more interesting storylines that was discussed and has developed this season is the aftermath of the unfortunate divorce of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the co-architects of the New England Patriots dynasty. Together, they won six championships over 20 years. Last year, Brady left to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cam Newton is now the quarterback for New England. (Yes, I was a Patriots fan. In all honesty, I am more student than fan--so I study anyone who wins.) I was saddened for the dynasty to come to an end.

After the divorce, many wondered how each would fare. At this point, it seems that Brady may come out better. Tampa Bay has won seven games, and lost four. New England has won 4 games and lost 7, and may miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Poor Patriots.

Theories have abounded to explain why Brady left. One of the best was accidentally offered by Belichick himself during a news conference earlier this year. As Mike Sando explained in the Athletic, after watching the news conference, (you can read the article here ) Belichick admitted that the Patriots got Brady on the cheap. Business Insider estimated that Brady gave up between $60-$100 million dollars during his career with the Patriots. For years, he was the most underpaid quarterback in the League, although he had won more Super Bowls than any.

Since the Patriots underpaid Brady, they also could underpay everyone else—which created a vicious cycle where they could not recruit or keep quality players. For years this strategy worked, until Brady bolted. If Sando‘s analysis is true, it reveals a critical lesson to which we should all take heed: being cheap catches up with you.

It’s a lesson that King David had learned. He needed a place to offer a sacrifice to God after he had committed an awful sin. He found an ideal piece of real estate that was owned by a man named Araunah, and approached him about a possible sale. Araunah offered David the property for free. David rejected the offer. He said "I will not offer the Lord that which costs me nothing." David wanted to pay the full price. No deals. No discounts. When it came to offering anything to God, David refused to be cheap.

What are you offering to God? To your spouse? To your children? To your job? To yourself?

Certainly, we should pinch pennies. But sometimes we can pinch the wrong penny. Being stingy is one thing. Being cheap is another. Stingy is making sure you don't overspend. Cheap is an unwillingness (not inability) to spend. And in the long run, being cheap is a losing strategy.

And being cheap applies to more than just money. We can be cheap with our time, energy, attention, creativity, encouragement, and praise. Whatever we may win in the short term, in the long run, being cheap is a losing strategy.

Remember that as you go shopping today.

And remember that when you pray tonight.

And remember that when you go to work on Monday.