Like DOGE? Try making it personal
Buckle your seat belts. This is messy.
Polls vary, but it appears a good majority of Americans approve of the concept of DOGE.
People may disagree about the method currently being used, but few disagree with the premise that government spending is out of control and needs to be tackled.
According to the U.S. Debt Clock, U.S. Federal Tax Revenue is slightly more than $5 trillion per year, while spending is slightly more than $7 trillion. The current national debt is $36.6 trillion.
Either we make some difficult decisions now or pay dearly later.
Some of the spending revelations have been surprising, and many definitely need to end. Of course true savings won’t come until we tackle the big ticket items of defense, Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security.
We can cheer the $40 million savings for the useless program in some random country, but are we ready to eliminate a $3 billion weapons system if it is determined to be obsolete, especially if it means deleting 220 jobs in a mid-sized American town where the weapon is built?
This is where the rubber meets the road.
This has me thinking about difficult decisions closer to home, in our personal lives.
What if we took the same hard look at our lives as Christ followers as DOGE looks at government spending?
We look at the insanity of government spending and wonder how irresponsible a body can be. We shake a fist at it. Our blood pressure rises. We are indignant.
Yet we casually live a life far short of God’s expectation for us and never think a thing about it.
How would we go about implementing a DOGE-like process in our own lives for those of us who profess to live under the Lordship of Jesus?
We would start by weighing every resource, thought and action against New Testament priorities. Advancing the Gospel. Loving God. Seeing others as God sees them.
Buckle your seat belts. This is messy.
A Ruthless Examination of Resources
Do we use what God entrusts to us wisely? Our money, time, talents (Matthew 25:14-30)? When weighed against my income, are my subscriptions warranted? Am I loose with the food budget? Loose is a kind word. Am I wasteful with the food budget? Am I withholding what I should be giving to the local church? Am I a softy when it comes to my wants, but frugal when a need arises that I can meet? We want DOGE looking at every dollar. Can we do the same?
Eliminating Waste
Do I have a ton of stuff in my house I know I will never use? Can it be donated, or sold for a good purpose? How much of my day is wasteful? Are there chunks of time better spent on more meaningful things (Ephesians 5:15-16)? Remember, the DOGE ethos is to attack government spending with the tenacity of a pit bull, and we root that on. Can we do that in our lives?
Rooting out Fraud
We’ve looked at some physical things, but what about DOGE-ing the heart? Are my motives pure? Am I pretending to be something that I’m not? Do my actions line up with what I say I believe? Am I overly-critical?
Identifying Corruption
Paul says in the New Testament to let no corrupting talk come out of our mouths (Ephesians 4:29). Are we willing to do a comprehensive speech audit? Are we willing to correct what was found to be fraudulent? Want to do a Fruit of the Spirit audit and see where you land? Want to take a look at your walk for a week and score yourself 1-10 on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)?
This is just a tiny portion of what it would look like to take the DOGE mindset to our everyday lives as Christ followers. It’s scary to think what we would find if we did.
In the end, I’m not sure if DOGE will radically change the landscape of government spending, or our debt. I am hopeful, however, that we will be incrementally better.
If we are simply incrementally better in reflecting Jesus in our lives, then we have moved in the right direction.