Are you shopping or buying?

Are you shopping or buying?

“May I help you?”

“No thanks. I’m just looking.”

No doubt you’ve gone into a store just to take a look around without any real intention of buying anything. It’s your prerogative as a shopper. But if no one ever buys, the store won’t remain in business.

Unfortunately many today are “just shopping” at church. They come in at their leisure, browse around, and leave without making any commitments. In a similar vein, I once heard a Christian leader lament that many people today are auditing Christianity. To audit a class in college you simply attend whenever you like but you don’t request or receive any academic credit. When you audit, no demands are placed on you, but neither do you get any credit for the time you put in.

Are you merely a shopper or an auditor of the church and Christianity? If so, then it’s time to take it to the next level. Jesus isn’t satisfied for you to remain in a non-committed mode. He calls you to follow him. He wants you to deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and start marching in his footsteps. There’s no long-term benefit for “just looking.” If you want eternal reward, you’ve got to make a purchase (see Matthew 13:44-46).