Circular Sin

circulars

I used to frequently indulge in a peculiar sin pattern. Sunday after church we’d lunch out with friends or family and then stop by the store for a few things on the way home. I liked going to Wal-Mart because they had my recreational drug of choice. Since we lived in the Chicago area, it came in a large package, roughly the weight of fireplace log. You needed to be sure to go several layers down to get the complete product, but it was a bargain at $1.50. I’m talking about the Sunday Edition Chicago Tribune.
 
I didn’t read the news, the cultural section or the sports. In fact, all of that was a giant waste of tree fiber. I wanted two things; the comics and most of all the circulars. That’s right, my purchase was purely anesthetic in nature. I planned to take it home, laugh a little, dream a little and then fall asleep under a warm layer of sales ads.
 
Circulars are interesting windows into culture, technology and … or souls. My problem with sales circulars was that I didn’t just look, sometimes I bought. There’s no problem with purchasing things that you need, but “need” became a rather loose category. So, not only did we purchase things we didn’t need, we spent money we didn’t have. I finally realized that my Sunday routine had become “Circular Sin.”
 
One wake-up call for me was being unable to help a friend with a need because we had too many payments. My attraction to stuff and the debt incurred caused me to transgress one of God’s commands on two fronts. Romans 13:8 says,
 
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
 
My love of stuff had made it impossible for me to love my friend in the tangible way he needed. Because I owed creditors, I could not pay my debt of love. The desire to be free to love others has loosened the grip of junk. Lord complete the work! (See also 1 John 2:15-17)

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