But what really scares us is not so much the mark of the beast, or even the beast himself, but the terrifying prospect of being unable to buy or to sell. The beast knows that the best place to catch us is at the shopping mall. The reason we are in danger of falling under his deadly spell is that we have already sworn allegiance to our consumer culture. I am not opposed to shopping in principle. There is nothing wrong with buying presents at Christmas, or at any other time of year.
Gifts are a tangible way of expressing love and friendship.
Few experiences in life are as wonderful as receiving a thoughtful gift. But understand that shopping, like everything else we do, is a spiritual activity. What we buy, and why we buy it, says something about our ultimate spiritual commitments. Perhaps it is not surprising that we speak of exchanging gifts, which implies that we will get as much as we give. But it is worth remembering that the wise men did not exchange gifts when Jesus was born.