I’m good at shopping…Really good…Too good…
I used to find satisfaction in buying things and getting more! It seemed that I could never have enough…clothes, shoes, food, books, and on and on it would go.
Don’t get me wrong. Items are not bad and needing them and buying them is not terrible. We need food to eat and clothing to wear. I’m just not sure if I really need 110 pairs of shoes for my two feet.
My favorite thing to do used to be finding amazing deals and snapping them up before someone else. I’d come home all proud of my retail accomplishments, with many bags upon bags of stuff. Did I really have to buy all those things? Why was I obsessed with MORE?
Even my home didn’t seem good enough. 2100sq ft surely can’t be big enough for a family of 5. 3000sq ft sounds so much better. Why not just get 4000sq ft and have plenty of space for everything I can think of?
Friends were more than happy to help me shop. Retailers would gladly take my money. The materialistic world told me my desires were perfectly normal and encouraged me to buy more.
The endless pursuit of stuff took so much of my time and money. I’d get the rush when I got that great deal, and that would quickly fade. Then I’d be off to buy something else, trying to fill a void that never was satisfied. I was unhappy in a home FULL of possessions, whose very existence just brought more clutter and stress to my life.
What I have learned is things don’t equal happiness. When I try to feel complete with just one more thing, it’s never enough. At best, I can find a moment of happiness, but it doesn’t last and I’m off again and again to find the next fix.
I thought I had a problem with shopping. Then I realized that I had a problem with contentment. I was filling the emptiness within me with possessions, when the only thing that could ever make me whole is God.
God made us to need Him. He is the one and only puzzle piece that completes us. Trying to live a life without Him leads to a never-ending search to make that emptiness within ourselves go away. No matter what you do, it can’t be done.
Many people are so lost, hurt and alone. They have no idea how to truly feel better. They don’t know who Jesus Christ is, what He did for them and how He fills the void within us and brings such purpose, peace and contentment.
Since accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, my life has completely changed. The striving is gone for the material things of this world. Don’t get me wrong. I still do enjoy shopping, at times more than I should. But I know now I am buying possessions to meet a specific need, and not to make myself feel whole. The excitement and rush are still there, but are so much more muted than before.
The one thing that brings me the greatest joy, fulfillment, and reward is my God. The thrill now comes from talking with Him, feeling His heart for people, reading His word, and just getting to know Him better. There truly is nothing more wonderful than spending time with the one who created everything in this universe, including me.
He showed His love for me when He died on the cross and took all my sins so I can spend eternity with Him. I didn’t do anything to deserve this grace from Him. I know I will never be good enough to justify what He did for me. But He still loves me the same, with an all-encompassing love that is greater than anything I have ever experienced before.
Luke 12:15 says, … “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” I have learned to keep my heart pure, my eyes on Christ and not place my value in things. My life is not defined by all the stuff I have accumulated. Instead of striving for more, I do things to make Him happy, because I love Him with all my heart.
I am definitely still a work in progress. I continue to buy more than I should at times, and I am far from perfect. Every day He is changing me, teaching me, and refining me into His image as we grow closer and closer. I now crave the things of God and find contentment in Him, instead of this world. As long as I keep my focus on Christ, I have everything I need.