Editorial August 12, 1996 Issue

Too much buying—how do you stop?

Russ Gerber

For some people, when it comes to walking into a store, looking around at the merchandise, seeing something they'd like to have, then buying it on impulse, the assumption is that it just happens. And when they've purchased more than they should have—well, that just happens, too.

Just the opposite is true. Moment by moment each of us chooses to be drawn in one direction or another. We make such choices all the time, whether we realize it or not. I'm not talking about a choice between acquiring one material thing or another, but rather choosing to be drawn toward worldly things in general, or toward the things of Spirit, God.

A friend of mine once told me that when she would walk into a store, if she saw something she liked she'd buy it, even if she didn't need it or couldn't afford it. A dress, a pair of shoes, just about anything. She admitted she was an impulse buyer, and wasn't happy about it, but hadn't felt compelled enough to change her actions. Then one day while browsing through a store, she saw a beautiful garment and thought about purchasing it. At that same moment, however, another thought occurred to her—lust of the eyes. She was a student of the Bible and was familiar with this phrase. The whole verse reads, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (I John 2:16).

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Too much buying—how do you stop?

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