Introduction: Being frugal or frugality is defined in Webster's 1864 dictionary as "Prudent economy; good husbandry or housewifery; a sparing use or appropriation of money or commodities a a judicious use of anything to be expended or employed that careful management of money or goods which expends nothing unnecessarily, and applies what is used to a profitable purpose, that use in which nothing is wasted. Frugality is always a virtue. Frugality can be demonstrated several ways. Some of them are:

A. Avoid waste (Prov. 12:27) -

• One who is a waster is compared to a lazy man in 18:9. Jesus leaves no garbage after a meal and collects all the scraps (Matt. 15:37). Paul redeems the time" (Eph. 5:16).

B. Avoid debt (Prov. 22:7) -

• Probably the greatest single abuse of this proverb in America today is the use of credit cards. The New Testament admonition is in Romans 13:8.
  • [1]. The paying and, collection of excessive interest on necessary debts is cautioned against - (Prov. 28:8; Eze. 18:5-13).
    [2]. It has always been forbidden to collect interest from a brother - (Deut. 23:19,20; Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:35-37).
    [3]. Co-signatures are also cautioned about in (Prov. 6:1-5; 11:15; 17:18; 22: 24-27).

C. Avoid greed (Prov. 23:5) -

• There are plenty of people who make the greatest priority of life accumulating money. God says the fruit of that is always bitterness (Prov. 28:20, 22).

D. Avoid poverty (Prov. 30:8,9) -

• A man can be as tempted to curse God because of poverty as well as riches. If one is a wise steward both extremes will be avoided.

E. Curbing other appetites -

[1]. Food (Prov. 23: l-3) -

When the citizens of High Wycombe, England, elect a new mayor, all the town councilors are weighed in public, following an ancient custom. Those whose weight is leas than or at least not more than when they took office are warmly applauded - they have not grown fat at public expense.

[2]. Wine (Prov. 23:20,21,29-35; Rom. 13:13) -

There is, by weight, precisely the same quantity of alcohol in one jigger of whiskey - or in one glass of wine - or in one bottle of beer.

One ounce of alcohol retards muscular reaction 17.4 per cent; increases time required to make a decision 9.7 percent; increases error due to lack of attention 35.3 percent, and due to lack of muscular coordination 59.7 percent. When the blood abeam is 2/10 of 1 per cent alcohol the drinker thinks he can fight anybody in the crowd; when it is 4/10 of 1 per cent he is in a drunken stupor; and when it is 6/10 of 1 per cent he is in danger of death. Although it's long been known that excessive drinking damages the brain, a new report contends that even "social drinking" destroys brain cells. At the 28th International Congress on Alcohol and Alcoholism, Dr. Melvin H. Knisely, professor of anatomy at the Medical College of South Carolina, offered evidence to show that when a drinker begins to feel the least bit giddy, a few of his brain cells are being killed. A heavy drinking bout can damage or destroy as many as 10,000 such cells.