Loyalty? You've got to be joking!

I got a new so-called loyalty card in the post today. You know the cards I mean? The ones that give you points for shopping at a particular supermarket, or for spending your money at some other retailer that's part of the same set-up. They call them loyalty cards - at least here in the UK - because the idea is that the points are their way of thanking you for your loyalty to their retail chain. Well, really... Does anyone take this seriously? Does anyone really have a sense of loyalty to a supermarket chain?! How many loyalty cards has the average Brit got in their purse/wallet? I'm not so bad, I've got two... no, three actually, two supermarket chains and one rather well-known chain of pharmacies which does not need my free advertising. So, does this mean I feel more loyal to these chains? or that I would shop there deliberately in order to earn points? That would just be pathetic - at least, I would feel pathetic if I caught myself doing that, making a choice as to where to do my shopping based on their generosity in point allocation.

And the generosity is, of course, exaggerated. Not that they promise more than they give - it's just the way they phrase things. When you're promised an extra 250 points if you spend such-and-such by a certain date, it sounds good, doesn't it? Two hundred and fifty sounds like a lot, unless you do the maths and remind yourself that actually one point is worth one penny, so we're talking about £2.50, which is not really worth the extra purchase, is it?

One thing I'm pleased about though is that some of the chains have started offering key fobs - little tags that you can hang on your keyring and use if you are shopping and haven't got your loyalty card with you. Not that I want to hang this collection of supermarket advertisements on my keyring, but I do have two separate purses I use - one for my own spending money and one for the housekeeping (yes, I know how this sounds, but it is so much easier keeping to a budget this way) so obviously the loyalty cards live in the housekeeping purse, but I don't necessarily have it with me when I'm filling up with petrol. So what they call key fobs I'm using as spare cards - they will not dangle on my keyring, but they will sit snugly in my other purse and come out when required. It's a small thing maybe, but it's nice to feel that in some way you're beating the system...

To stop or not to stop - that is the question

If I was back home in Israel I would have had to have done all my shopping by early afternoon yesterday. The shops there will be closed now till Sunday - they're always closed on Shabbat (Saturday - the Jewish Sabbath) and this year Rosh Hashana (Jewish new year) falls on Thursday and Friday, which means three days off from work (nice) but also three days of the shops being closed (not so convenient). (oh, and no public transport, which is also not hugely convenient if you haven't got a car.)

Here in England there's only one day in the year (Christmas Day) when all the shops close and public transport stops.

So which is the better way?

I don't feel I have answers, just questions. I grew up as a secular Israeli and was thus one of a large part of the population who resented these laws being imposed on us in the name of a religion which we didn't understand and had no love for. Now I do believe in God and know that it was he who gave us the commandment to rest one day a week, and I believe that this commandment comes from his love for us - he knows our weaknesses, he knows we need a rest once in a while and he also knows that we are very good at forgetting that.

And this is what I see here in England, where we have the freedom to shop on any day of the week - I see people forgetting about the need to rest and relax, filling every moment with some sort of activity. Would it be better for us if one non-shopping day in the week was imposed on us (as it used to)? Would it force people to stop for a day and rest?

The trouble is I'm not so sure about that. Those of us who feel they have to keep busy will find ways of doing that, even if they fill their time with church activities. Why do some of us have this need to keep busy all the time? Is it to prove our worth? Is it to show that we're not bone idle? Is it in order to avoid stillness, because we're scared of hearing ourselves think for a change? Is it because we're afraid of hearing God speak to us (because he might have some uncomfortable things to say)?

I've got into the habit over the years of going away on retreat once in a while. I need it even now that I'm out of the rat race, even though I'm at home and you'd think I could easily spend time praying and listening to God whenever I want to - the problem is that when you're at home there are always a million other things you could be doing, and it's not always easy to focus on God when you can see the pile of ironing that's waiting for you. At home there's the computer, the phone, the washing up - lots of things I could fill my time with. Going away to a place that is set apart for the purpose, I can become still more easily and I don't have so many ways of shutting God out.

So in a way I need once in a while to curb my own freedom so that I would be able to spend more time doing what is actually really good for me! Isn't it weird, this human tendency (or is it just me?) to avoid doing what we know is really good for us?

Like I said, I have no answers, only questions. So now it's over to you - tell me what you think.