Pair of Pants

It’s a need… sometimes.

Filipinos love to shop. If we have a past time, it would be spending the money we earned after long hours of being away from our family each and every day. I was in a mall this weekend and all I see are people who are mindful of the temporary including the person writing this. I always wanted to save my money but my banks are the shoes and pants store. Even though I don’t use credit card but it still isn’t being a godly steward of my finances. Yes, I majored in Finance but I’m not an expert.

You would say, “But I would save fifty percent of the thing! Come on, when would be the next sale? It might not be here anymore.” Hello? If you just walk away, you’ll save hundred percent, duh? Didn’t you thought of, are they still making money if they’re making markdowns? It only means that they price too much!

Why do you want to buy the thing?

This is the most used question, even my mom used it to me a lot of times but I lied a lot of times as well. Do you need it? For what?

What will you do to a pair of pants that is too cheap which you won’t use anyway? I use pants ‘cause I’m in love with any plain pants. Haha. I bought these very cheap pants from a store and I just used it for two or three times since I didn’t really need it and now, it’s on my donations paper bag to give away. I just bought it because I tried to justify that I need it and I made myself fool myself that I’ll be able to save. Don’t believe satan’s lies.

You know, God knows what you need and He will provide for it, but not too much shopping. We’ll always say, a pair of pants won’t hurt. May I ask you a question? How many pairs do you have? How many days are there in a week? You can live with seven pair of pants maximum in a week, there are only seven days in a week. You’re too blessed to have one a day. Some don’t even have something to clothe themselves to be protected from cold. Some don’t even eat everyday.

I met this foreign man and my heart melted when I knew that he has no family. That he’s living by himself and doesn’t even eat on time. And here I am, indulging myself in this store full of textiles which you can’t even put on your stomach to satisfy your hunger. It was so heartbreaking and I went to the counter and bought only the pants that I need for work. Oh, I’m a campus missionary who just needs a sturdy jeans and a comfy tee. There are millions out there who don’t have any decent meal to eat, there are millions who do not know where to get their next meal, there are millions dying of poverty, hunger, trafficking, illness and here I am shopping for new clothes just to have new #ootd at work. What the heck, Michelle? You’re so dumb.

Please, I’m not against shopping. It’s a need… sometimes.

I was also rebuked by the Lord in posting my new gorg (Oh no, I should not included gorg haha) shoes online. Okay, I felt like I wasn’t boasting but to other people, they don’t know where I was coming from, so better tame my tongue by taming my twitter. I also am guilty of posting food, so wrong of me. So what I did was to uninstall my facebook app on my phone to not access it easily. It was hard to put it away ‘cause you’ll look for it but it actually helps to just read the dictionary or I mean the Bible. Haha.

Again, I’m not against Facebook/Twitter. It’s a need… sometimes.

Do you have alternative to use instead of buying a new one?

Do you have the capacity to buy it?

Do you have peace?

I submit to you, pants won’t last. It’ll be stained in just a small mistake in laundrying. O how I hate my clothes being bleached. You would calculate in your head how many times you’ve used it and deduct the depreciation to know if you maximized what you paid for. The painful part is you don’t use it that often since you have too many clothes in your closet. And you don’t want repeating same top over and over again. (Disclaimer: I don’t have that much! I just felt like writing it.)

Everything that we have is the Lord’s. Better yet, consult Him. (further reading: Isaiah 58)

Love,

Michelle Aquino