April 12, 2005
Impulse Purchases
Stores these days really know how to play up the impulse purchase desires. They put all the yummy delicious, single serving candy by the cash register. Those little things that usually cost less than a dollar and its very easy to reason, “Sure why not?!” The tabloids with their eye catching headlines along with the magazines with their glitzy covers accompany the candy, so that more than just a sweet tooth can be soothed.
This is all part of our culture which is being driven more and more by consumerism. This is the attitude of accumulating, having, showing off and throwing away tons and tons of STUFF. Companies have learned better and better ways to market, package and convince us that we must have this or we need that. They do a great job of selling the idea that existing without these products is near impossible.
But the impulse purchases are the ones that generally fly under the radar screen and seem like no big deal. My wife and I went out to go grocery shopping and we came back with a new car. Those crafty salesmen had the car set-up right by the door and we couldn’t resist the impulse!!
Actually, we had little choice in the matter as we were down to being a one car family. My plan was to just to gather information on cars and take it from there. Well I gathered so much information on this particular car; I now have a title for it in my name! Why the spiel on consumerism than? We just attended a conference where that was one of the main topics of discussion. So we were noticing the irony of the very next day when we bought a car.
I pray that we are being good stewards of what the Lord has given us and that this wasn’t really an impulse purchase. We want to trust that the Lord will provide for our needs, we want to take responsibility for our choices that affect those needs. Lord do an amazing work in us today!
Posted by price at April 12, 2005 12:34 PM | TrackBackYou know, one thing I don't get is that a lot of very religious folks will go on forever about the importance of Free Will, and then just completely reverse themselves and talk about how God is responsible for everything good or bad in the world. i.e., "It's God's will." It's like saying, "None of us are really responsible for anything", which seems to be the complete opposite of "Free Will."
Oh, also - congrats on the car.
Posted by: Malnurtured Snay at April 13, 2005 11:12 PMThe struggle to understand free will and God’s sovereignty is a common one. They certainly, at least on face value, seem to be at odds with one another. So your question is a good one and a legitimate one. I would say they are not really at odds though but are two truths that exist together.
God is sovereign over all creation because He is the creator. He is the potter that molds the clay into the form of His desire. He spoke the world into creation. Also, He has given us free will to make choices in life. We have the ability to make our own choices, but we can’t choose to do something that is outside of the boundaries of creation. Thus we have free will and God maintains His sovereignty, as we are both responsible for our choices and surrender to God’s will.
Do you think that hate is the opposite of love or is the opposite indifference? Love and hate can be found in the same relationship, so are they really opposing one another or simply existing together?
Posted by: Jeff Price at April 14, 2005 09:53 AMUm. Sorry, your explanation doesn't make any sense. I mean, going from the premise that God created the world - and thus there are certain, for lack of a better phrase, "laws of nature" that can't be violated, therefore: I can't turn lead into gold. However, I still don't see how from that you get "God gave us the car!" That would imply that God either interfered with your Free Will or someone else's Free Will to put that car's keys into your pocket.
Posted by: Malnurtured Snay at April 15, 2005 09:46 PM