What is Stitch Fix?

I confess, I (Hannah) have an addiction to Stitch Fix! Have you seen the ads for it on social media? If you are not familiar with it, Stitch Fix is a personal styling service that sends a box of 5 clothing items or accessories straight to your front door! You get to try on everything in the comfort of your own home with other items in your wardrobe, then ship the items that you don't want to purchase back to Stitch Fix. For a girl who doesn't care to go to the mall, and needs all of the fashion help she can get, it is a win-win!

The Stitch Fix Dilemma!

However, their marketing strategy is brilliant! If you decide to keep all 5 items, you receive a 25% discount. Sounds great, right? It is great, but there is a catch. Now that my stylist knows my preferences, I almost always love at least 3 out of the 5 items in my box, which means I am often on the fence about what to return. If I like the 4th item even a little bit, it probably makes sense to go ahead and keep all 5 items! In some cases, it may even be cheaper to keep all 5 because of the discount. And at that point, I have completely blown my budget! All of this leads to an internal struggle that I would imagine many of us share.

There is a push in our culture today to buy more and more stuff. We are caught up in a materialistic society that tells us that the more we have, the better off we will be. Many people try to live so far above their means, they find themselves engulfed in credit card debt that is nearly impossible for them to repay. Have you ever felt like sometimes consuming actually creates a greater desire to consume more? In my Stitch Fix example, I may go months without even thinking about new clothes, but all of a sudden I now feel like I just have to have some new shoes or a new jacket to go with the adorable new outfit I just bought! For some reason, it's not enough that I just added a cute new dress to my closet!

How much is too much?

But how much is too much? And, as a Christ follower, how do I fight against this temptation to find too much satisfaction in the things of this world? I do not have all of the answers, but I do know that this is something that our Lord warns us about, and that we must take seriously. He says in Matthew 6:19-21 states, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I want my heart to be in the right place. I want Jesus to be my greatest treasure, and I want to live to please Him. Knowing that this world is not my permanent home, and the joys that await me in Heaven with Him will far surpass any temporary pleasures that material things might provide is what motivates me to fight against temptation. When I feel that familiar squeeze to buy something impulsively, or that I just have to have something, I ask the Lord to remind me of the inheritance that I have been given through Christ. I ask Him to help me find greater joy in loving Him and laying my life down in love and service to others than I find in accumulating more for myself.

Do you share this same struggle? What are some ways that you fight against loving the things of this world too much?

Read our Scripture lesson in Demand - The Consumer's Perspective for more on this topic.