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Shopping - Let our values determine our manner of purchasing.
Even those with very limited financial resources go shopping for some needs that they can afford. Others, who have sufficient funds to do so, might shop for Christmas gifts. None of us can go shopping for grace, blessings, or inspirations. Nor do we expect to go somewhere to purchase love, faith, or hope. Rather, we can exercise these latter powers which God gives us when we make choices about whatever we might buy, and however we will make use of the material things we might acquire.
Since very few of us can afford to simply buy anything we want whenever we like, we usually have priorities in mind for purchases whenever we are shopping. These priorities affect every aspect of not only what we might procure, but also our motives. Unless we are willing to let our decisions be governed primarily by the attractiveness of items, we will rely on our spiritual resources to guide us whenever we go shopping. This does not mean that we go to a church to pray before going to stores, but we certainly are better at making decisions when we strive to consciously let our values affect the selections we make even as to which stores we will enter as well as to whatever we obtain.
Since we do not buy love but instead develop this precious gift of grace by making loving choices, any shopping we do related to the Christmas Season can be much more than a tiring burdensome task or mere fulfilment of societal expectations. When we have a clear purpose in mind that comes from love of God and love of people, selfish interests diminish, along with the energy-sapping thoughts and feelings that accompany purely self-directed impulses.
In the shops and stores we enter, more is available than we need or had in mind when we entered. Some of us adhere strictly to lists of what we intend to acquire, but openness to inspiration about whatever we ultimately buy is not at all the same as letting appetite or attractiveness in presentation or in packaging direct us. The Spirit of the one whose birth the season properly celebrates, is for us not just a source of friendly advice but also gives us gentle indications of whatever is better for us and for others, based on complete knowledge of both givers and recipients.
The best preparation for shopping, even before making any kind of list or plan of action, is to consciously pause to acknowledge the Spirit of Love within us, thereby opening our minds and hearts to receive the gifts of wisdom and insight that God wants to give to us. Then, we will be fully ready to go shopping.
Last Updated 12/6/2025