To be American is to love a good bargain.
- If Google AI is to be trusted, about 90% of Americans regularly shop at discount stores, and 59% of us brag to friends or family members when we score a great sale or discount (C’mon—admit it!).
- Nearly three-quarters of us prioritize price over product quality.
- Truth is, we really don’t like paying full price for anything. Which is why three in four Americans are willing to wait up to a month for an item to go on sale rather than shell out the full price.
- Saving moolah makes us merry. Two in three shoppers report that finding a great deal genuinely boosts their mood.
- We bargain hunters have standards, though. The average shopper needs to save at least 36% on an item for the purchase to feel like a worthwhile deal.
- Surprise! Research shows that affluent, six-figure earners are showing up at Walmart and Costco to save money like the rest of us.
What can we say? We love bargains! But when it comes to a genuine Christian life, there are few—if any—bargains to be had. This quote struck me from the devotional, Daily Streams:
God has nothing worth having that is easy. There are no cheap goods in the heavenly market. Our redemption cost all that God had to give, and everything worth having is expensive. Hard places are the very school of faith and character.*
Like you, I love a bargain. But let’s never forget 1 Peter 1:19, which underscores that our salvation was purchased “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
Dear Lord,
As my salvation was not purchased cheaply, help me to live richly in obedience, in faithfulness, in holiness.
Amen!
*Source: Streams in the Desert, June 29 reading
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay