Monday Musings of Pastor Ron - July 20, 2026

Friends,

Have you ever heard of the Shopping Cart Theory? It arose sometime around 2020 and caused quite a stir among the public and even reached the enquiring minds of psychologists, anthropologists and behavioral researchers. It has probably died down a little bit in the last six years, but it came again to my mind the other day in the Randall's parking lot.

The Theory goes like this: There's a moment in every grocery store parking lot that nobody officiates. You've loaded your bags, you've got your keys in hand, and the cart is just sitting there. The corral is maybe forty feet away. Nobody's watching. No fine, no reward, no record of what you do next. And yet some people always return it — rain, heat, bad knees, and all. What separates them from the folks who leave it two spaces over?

I am not writing this to debate why people return carts or don't return carts. As the theory goes there is no reward for returning and no punishment for not. Therefore, returning is a personal choice. However, whether a cart is returned or not does have consequences that reach beyond the person pushing the cart. We can debate those consequences and determine if they are beneficial or detrimental. But that is not the point of this writing either.

My point is that we take actions that do have consequences. My point is that we take those actions because there is some inherent value in them from our perspective. My point is that taking actions, or not, as Christians has consequences. Taking those actions, or not, attests to the values that we have taken from the teachings of Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I am not talking about returning a shopping cart. I am talking about caring for others and praying for others. I am talking about treating people like we want to be treated. I am talking about respecting and appreciating others even if they are different than we are. I am talking about the times when our lives intersect with others that we have nothing in common with. I am talking about what we do to further the kingdom when no one else is watching. That is what we learn from Jesus. Do what we are called to do even when no one else knows we are doing it. What we do for God is not about accolades and feeling good. Returning a cart in the parking lot is not about a store manager or another customer thanking us. What we do for God is our part of advancing the kingdom right here, right now. Nothing more. Nothing less.

God bless you. See you Sunday