← Back to the blog

He Must Increase: Lessons from St. John the Baptist

Hey everyone,

On the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, we remember a man who lived with almost nothing — and still had enough freedom to tell the truth.

John did not keep a court lifestyle. He wore camel’s hair. He ate locusts and wild honey. When Herod’s palace offered comfort, he offered a word Herod did not want to hear. He was imprisoned and killed for it. That is not a money story on the surface. It is a freedom story — and faithful FI is about that kind of freedom.

What he actually taught

John’s own summary of his life is one line: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). That is not self-hatred. It is ordered love. Christ grows. The ego, the brand, and the lifestyle shrink so there is room.

He also gave the most practical surplus rule in the Gospels. When the crowds asked what to do, he said, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise” (Luke 3:11). Two tunics is a budget category. It is the extra coat, the unused subscription, the raise that quietly became a nicer version of the same life.

How this lands in the household plan

Faithful FI is a holy decrease. Not a smaller vocation. A smaller claim on the paycheck. You name what is enough. You refuse to let Herod’s court — status, comparison, the next upgrade — set the household standard. You keep a buffer so you are not bought. Then the true surplus — the second tunic — is given and invested, not absorbed.

• Name “enough” in dollars so decrease is a decision, not a vague guilt
• Cut one courtly cost this month and move that cash to the tithe, the buffer, or investing
• Keep a cash buffer so telling the truth at work or at home does not depend on next week’s paycheck
• When you find a second tunic — extra coat, extra streaming plan, extra car — share it or sell it and put the dollars to work

When the household decreases on purpose, Christ can increase in ordinary ways: more time, more generosity, more peace, less pretending. Margin is what makes that possible.

One practical step this week

Sit down with last month’s numbers and ask John’s question: where did we increase the lifestyle when we could have decreased it? Circle one second tunic — a bill, a habit, a purchase that is not serving the vocation. Move that money this week: tithe, buffer, or surplus investing. Do not wait for a more spiritual feeling.

If the household cannot even see the second tunic, get shared visibility first. A simple money dashboard lets both spouses see the coats in the closet — every dollar, every bill — so decrease is based on truth, not guesswork.

St. John the Baptist did not prepare the way by accumulating a safer life. He prepared it by decreasing. Our part is smaller and still holy: shrink what does not serve Christ, share the second tunic, and build the margin that lets the household tell the truth.

Financial freedom really is for everyone — including your family.

– Dustin