Retail Therapy, I Think Not

I like shopping.  I can't deny it.  I enjoy all those memes about Amazon because I can relate. It's not just online shopping, though.  I don't discriminate.  Old-fashioned shopping trips/sprees give me butterflies in my tummy too.  It's terrible.  I know.  Dan keeps reminding me of this character flaw ALL.THE.TIME.

sigh...

And he is right, in a way.  If it weren't for his ability to hit the breaks on my purchasing train, we'd probably be homeless.  But boy, is it hard to pass up a sale, or what?

I mean, I have gotten way better over time.  I have become more controlled and smarter too. But still...sigh.

The big issue here, though, is that I use shopping as an escape.  When I'm stressed out and need a break, shopping is always there to lift me up. There are many things wrong with this scenario.  Worst of all is the fact that my default involves diving into the material world for comfort, when answers and true respite can only come from the spiritual realm.  My ties to this world are too tight.  I forget that I don't belong to this place.  I forget Paul's words when he tells us:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3: 1-2

It is not just Jesus who rose from the grave.  He raised me too!  He raised all of us.  He descended to the pit of filth where we were, grabbed hold of us and brought us to life! He lifted us.  He gave us a new birth.  This new life, this new us comes together with a new view of things.  We are not immersed in the darkness of a life void of righteousness anymore.  Jesus gave us His righteousness, and with that comes a perspective that looks up at things above, instead of down to what we left behind.  This new life is the life in the Spirit, the Spirit of God who guides us and leads us and comforts us and helps us find our way to Him...to Christ seating at the right hand of God.  Therefore, our minds are set on Him, not on earthly things.  But we forget...I forget...and that is why Scripture is such a divine gift, because it is through Scripture that the Holy Spirit helps us remember and leads us back.  

I know I won't be canceling my subscription to Amazon Prime anytime soon.  But I know I'm not a slave to its lure.  I know where my help and my light comes from, and it is not from retail therapy.  It is from Him:

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121: 2