by Thomas Russell

Created on: August 31, 2008

Bill only had $50 in his pocket to buy groceries. Consequently, he had to make sure he spent his money on the things he desired.

Negotiating carefully down the aisles of his store, he spied a delicious brand of cookies he coveted. So, he licked his lips, snatched the package and placed it delicately in his cart to ensure no morsels were broken in the transfer.

Walking directly toward him, however, he noticed a woman smiling like the Cheshire cat. Looking into her cart, he saw a big box marked, "Wisdom." Averting his eyes to his bag of cookies, he tried to justify who got the better value.

Shaking his head, he set out for the next target-the jumbo-sized box of sugar-laden, calorie-loaded cereal. He carefully placed the box standing up as if he was carrying a baby.

Turning the corner, he almost collided with another lady. She too had that same grin spanning her face. And in her cart was a rather large bag marked, "Faith." She had nothing else. Yes, but his cart was beginning to fill up with all his comfort foods, thank you very much.

Viewing the end cap in the next aisle, he saw that his favorite brand of chips was Buy One Get One Free.

"Score," he blurted out loud enough for the nearest shopper to hear. If he would have turned to his right in the next aisle, however, he would have seen the more valuable sale that many shoppers were already scooping up in droves-"Eternal Salvation-Absolutely Free," but his mind was set on purchasing all those sinfully delectable foods he was used to getting.

This went on through his entire trek of the store. His cart was filling up with frozen pizzas, cinnamon bread, Rocky Road ice cream-and for shame if he forgot the beer for the weekend. However, his broad smile changed to a demoralizing frown when he realized his cart was full of all his earthly desires, yet he seemed to be missing out on the bigger prize that all those other joyful shoppers were taking stock in.

He certainly had all the items he wanted, but everything he placed in his cart was chock full of empty calories, devoid of any significant nutritional value. Sure, gratifying his desires for all the comfort only satiated him briefly. Yet when he observed all those other people who had just one item in their carts, ranging from "Virtuosity" to "Obedience" to "Redemption" he noticed a certain peace enveloping their entire being.

He wanted what they had. The secret to achieving that ultimate peace, he realized, was to seek out the items that gave him eternal gratification instead of choosing a path of empty satisfaction that had no intrinsic value.

So he took each item he coveted in his cart and deposited them back on the shelves. Since it was free he moved quickly to the "Eternal Salvation" end cap. It was the best investment he ever made.

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