Where is Your Treasure?
While there is nothing wrong at all with getting excited over the great deals you find, you must not let that excitement cloud your focus. No matter how many free or incredibly inexpensive things you are able to accumulate, they will not last. Food will get eaten, clothes will wear out, and other goods will be stolen, rusted, or eaten by moths. But the treasures you lay up in heaven will last for eternity (Matthew 6:19-20). Do you get so focused on the excitement of a great deal that you forget to give the cashiers a tract or talk to them about the Lord? You may take home a whole cart load of earthly treasures, but you will lose out on the opportunity to lay up for yourself an eternal treasure. Are you so concerned with making sure the cashiers accept all your coupons that you find yourself speaking unkindly to them? Wouldn't it be better to just let it go instead of ruining your chance to share the gospel with them? Do you try so hard to "work a deal" that you are tempted to be dishonest in the use of your coupons? (Dana from Frugal in Virginia addresses this issue in her guest post at Keeping the Kingdom First.) You may receive some temporary satisfaction from your "earthly treasure", but it will not be worth it in comparison to the shame you experience when you stand before Christ. As you seek to please God in the use of your finances, make sure you please Him in your actions as well.
I went to CVS on Saturday. It ended up that we are on the new change of dates for specials...totally threw me off. I didn't purchase anything. However, I was able to invite a man to our church. Come to find out they just move to the Greenville, SC area, and they are looking for a church. Amazing how God worked out for that to happen....even though my original plan wasn't accomplished. God is good!
ReplyDeleteI really, really dislike proselytizing. My purpose at CVS is to purchase items, not spread the word of God. Just like during mass I doubt you would want me to get up and tell you about my great CVS deals. I was raised Catholic, by the way.
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