ETHICAL VIRTUE GROUP

Because I value moral excellence as Christ's way, I choose to make decisions based on ethical principles.

How To Make Good Decisions

Economy

God is not wasteful. He makes the best use of all that He has.

Definition

Economy related virtues: Conservative, saving

Conservation and saving mean: avoiding waste, careful and proper use of materials.

See flipchart

What Shall I Give Thee, Master, AYS, 203
We Are an Offering, HIOS, 136

Student Life Applications

Because all I have is through the gifts and talents given to me by God, I recognize that I am a steward of all that I have and must use it with great care. Therefore, I will:

Make decisions that will not be wasteful.
Make my clothes, toys, school supplies and other belongings last as long as they can.
Plan carefully to spend my money in a way to achieve the best.
Conserve resources by:
Turning off lights and fans when they are not needed.
Shutting off water when it is not needed.
Not wasting food.
Avoid doing things that will cause more expense or work for others such as:
Making a mess for someone else to clean up.
Writing on furniture or walls, throwing trash out a car window or onto the floor.

Bible, E.G. White

Matthew 15:37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
Exodus 16:16 Gather of it every man according to his eating.

“To be wasteful of time or material is dishonesty before God. A few moments are squandered here, and a few moments there, which amount in the course of a week to nearly or quite a day, sometimes even exceeding this. "Time is money," and a waste of time is a waste of money to the cause of God.” 4T 451
“All who are connected with our institutions should have a jealous care that nothing be wasted, even if the matter does not come under the very part of the work assigned them.” 4T 572
" Attention should be given to saving even so trifling a matter as wastepaper, for it can be turned into money.” 4T 451
“A cent seems like a trifle, but a hundred cents make a dollar, and rightly spent may be the means of saving a soul from death. If all the means which has been wasted by our own people in self-gratification had been devoted to the cause of God, there would be no empty treasuries, and missions could be established in all parts of the world.” HS 293
“He bids His stewards of means invest their money in the work of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and preaching the gospel to the poor.” 9T 53

Reinforcing Stories

"Willie's Want Book", Book Two, Great Stories for Kids by Jerry D. Thomas
Story # 3, Book Three, Great Stories for Kids by Jerry D. Thomas.
Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories, Volume Two. by Arthur S. Maxwell.
"Luck", Treasury of Devotional Aids for the Home and School

Student Activities

1. Let students form a club and handle their own money
2. Help in fund-raising projects
3. Let students plan budgets for school projects
4. Prepare a school lunch and plan it in the most economical way
5. Pretend you have a million dollars to spend and write up a detailed expense list.

Links to the Curriculum

English: Using an economy of words to write a news bulletin so also we should economize when using gospel funds.
Home Economics: Economy is taught in the home as Jesus gathered up remains after feeding 5,000.
Physics: Matter is never wasted in the universe. We shouldn't be wasteful either.

Resources

Primary:
Tell or write about a time when you saw someone show economy.
Tell or write about when you showed economy like God would do.
Tell or write about when you saw the hurt and unhappiness when someone did not show economy.
How do you think God feels when He sees people who show economy?
How do you feel when you show economy?
Tell two ways that you can show economy.
What makes you want to show economy?
What is the opposite of economy? Who makes us act that way?
Finish the sentence: We can show economy when we..........

Middle:
What effect would it have on my future if I did not choose to practice economy?
How would people treat me differently if I did or didn’t choose to practice economy?
How would I feel about myself if I did or did not choose to practice economy?
Give some reasons why you think it is best to practice economy. Why would someone do differently?
What makes choosing to practice economy better than the opposite?
List some ways that a person might practice economy without anyone noticing?
List 3 situations where a person could practice economy in his work, home, or at the shopping mall.
Is it possible for a person to get better at practice economy? Explain.
Can you think of someone who seems good at practice economy? What makes them better at it?
How often do you practice economy? Think of the last three times and tell me.
Do you like to join in when people are being economical? How have you joined in?

High school:
Would you practice economy if no one was checking on you? Your parents, school, or the law?
What is the alternative to economy and what do you see as the results of that choice?
Are you proud to practice economy and willing to tell others how you feel?
If someone in a group spoke out against economy would you speak up to give the other side?
Are you willing to put some of your money toward supporting economy in your city, class, work?
Can you say that to practice economy has become a habit? How often are you that way?
What effect do you think economy will have on your future life?
Do you see your family practicing economy? How about your church, city, or nation?
What do you think should be done to promote economy in your family, friends, church, city, nation?