Sales, Sales, Sales...



Fact that its free or on sale doesn’t really mean we need it. The stores know the working of the human brain, and so the marketers have a blast… get it for half prize when in truth you’re paying the full prize… only reason we have half the things we’ve got is because there was some sort of perceived deal on them.
How do you know you're getting a good deal? When those sales people hound you and tell you how good the new product is, and how you've got limited time to get it at a huge discount.Who says we really are getting awesome bargains?
Funny thing is there's this really good dead sea product that's always 30% off when the sales people market it, years later it's still 30% off for a limited period... everyday people get eaten by that line.
I walk into stores and see things on sale, but still on the pricey side and i get excited about getting them, it's on sale after all. The 'juju' wears off when i get home and look at the items asking myself if i really do need them… Like for real, if they were full price and i could afford them, would i buy them? Or did i just jump into the sea like sailors lured by the voice of the sirens.
Have you noticed how you end up spending more during sales than you would normally spend? Like because it screams 50-70percent off, you just keep picking and picking till your bill is a 150percent above your budget. You get more stupid shopping on a bargain than regular shopping. (many have fallen prey to the delusion of the dollar shops)

It's the Christmas season again, and all the ads on TV, magazines, internet et co seem to be screaming the same thing... "Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!!! Ho ho ho... spend all your money, be stupid. 'Tis the season to be a great fool, max out on your cards, spend all your cash, devour your overdrafts, get sunk in credit bills... shop shop shop"
And we fall for it, because the sales... Oh, the sales. Most ladies have been victims of 'never been worn' outfits piling in their closets, just because "well, it was a good offer".
Back when i used to swallow the red sign of sale line, hook and sinker... Mercy. I have been a fool a hundred times. A familiar guest to the backstreet of  'shoppers remorse'.

Same way, just because the world offers some things, some pleasures for half the price(and even free), doesn't mean you need them. That instant gratification is more costly than you can ever imagine. By the time you're done revelling in the pleasure you easily access, you realize how senseless it all is. "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." 1 Corinthians 6:18. Fact that you get sex thrown at you, doesn't mean you should grab at it, if you really do need it, then you'll purchase it for the full price and not off the sale shelve. Not just with sex but every other thing... in our pursuit of wealth, joy and peace. In a world where everyone seems to be liberated, and rules on morality has been bent, you do not have to buy into its half measures, and total reduction on the price of salvation.

"Temptation by its very nature is deception, a lie. What is evil is deceitfully presented as good, what is harmful as helpful, what is poison as antidote, what is enslaving as liberating, what is foul as fun. Temptation is what a trap is to an animal. It offers something good, but its true intent is to trap and kill." Dr. Richard P. Bucher

Learn to be wise, if you easily fall prey to the snares of sales, then avoid the malls as much as you can, same way you should flee from certain places and people that play on your weak points and cause you to fall into sin.
I'm so grateful that literally I've learned to shop with a head on my shoulder, i was taught the hard way, especially in a time where pennies are tight, it's saved me a whole lot. I don't go around hauling things that would be thrown aside, useless and unworn for years. I buy just what i need. Same way, i walk away from sales non literally, i don't walk away in both sense by my own strength but by God's grace.

It's as simple as this... flee from temptation. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" James 4:7
I know how much of a struggle it is, but it is possible to walk away from things that would only end up hurting you/temptation "No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it." 1 Corinthians 10:12(msg)
When you're forced to go to the mall for some reason, It's really possible to walk past shops with sale signs screaming at you and not give in, as long as you hold on to God all the way.

Be a wise shopper this season and beyond.

Comments

  1. i've been a regular reader of u'r blog but i have never dropped a comment.I love how u use the physical everday issues of life to relate to spiritual issues.u'r blog always speaks to my spirit God bless u.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Instant gratification is always regretful in the end.
    Impulsive spending is the beginning of being financially insignificant

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tremendous post, thanks for sharing. I really needed to read and email to my woman. I remember thinking many of the same things you've written, here and there. Especially concerning clothing that hasn't even been worn.

    Same way, just because the world offers some things, some pleasures for half the price(and even free), doesn't mean you need them. That instant gratification is more costly than you can ever imagine. By the time you're done revelling in the pleasure you easily access, you realize how senseless it all is

    You speak the truth, and then some.

    ReplyDelete

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