Day 4: New Stuff - Stop (Shopping) and Roll

It isn’t that shopping is bad in and of itself. Shopping is largely neutral, and the desire for new things is written into our creaturely DNA. It’s one of the reasons God’s promise in the book of Revelation that one day He will make “everything new” is so profoundly alluring—this is what we want. 

Craving newness isn’t wrong. It’s when this desire begins to deter us from the deeper ends God designed us for—worship, community, fellowship, virtue—that it becomes a net negative on both our bank account and our soul.

Savoring the Finer Things

Pixy Stix can be ingested in a second; a fine meal needs to be savored. To begin finding God’s cure for addictive shopping habits, I began slowly taking small bites of more lasting pleasures. Exercise fills, so Daryl and I invested in a rowing machine. Friendships fill, so I dedicated one evening every couple of weeks as “girlfriend” night and went on walks with friends old and new. Music fills, so I began learning to sit at the piano or pick up the guitar rather than logging on to an online shopping site.

These days when I am tempted to head out on an unnecessary shopping trip, I try to remember the wise words of C. S. Lewis from his classic Mere Christianity: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” My closets and my soul thank me. Maybe yours will, too.

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. Why do we crave new things? Read Revelation 21:5. How does our desire for newness connect to God’s promise that one day he will make all things new? In what way is shopping for new things we don’t need rooted in a good desire?
2. Read Isaiah 55:1–2. Isaiah warns of spending our money and labor on what can never satisfy us. What fleeting pleasures tempt you when it comes to shopping? Describe a time you gave in to an impulse purchase or bought something to satiate a feeling rather than a tangible need.
3. Courtney writes of investing in deeper, slower, more nourishing pleasures—exercising, spending time with friends, playing the guitar. Describe slower, deeper pleasures that appeal to you. What is one way you could feed yourself with more lasting nourishment when you’re next tempted to buy metaphorical junk food—something you don’t need?
4. Courtney writes, “Investing in the deeper things deepened me, too.” Where does your life lack depth? How might God be inviting you to invest in deeper things?
5. Would you ever consider taking a total break from shopping for non-essentials, as Courtney did? Why or why not? If you want to take a break, decide upon a start date and a length of time.