Here’s something that drives me nuts! When I go to the store I see shopping carts all over the parking lot. At Walmart there’s a convenient sidewalk between the rows of cars that leads right up to the entrance. Sometimes there are so many shopping carts on this sidewalk that my family and I are physically unable to walk to or from our car without moving several shopping carts out of the way. The other day I had to pick up and move one of those electric shopping carts (that aren’t even supposed to leave the store) out of the middle of a parking space so that someone could park there.

All emotion aside (and there’s plenty of it!) I think that as Christians we are Biblically responsible to return our shopping carts to the shopping cart receptacles. I would even go as far as to say that it is a sin to not do so.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Romans 13:1

What authorities govern the Walmart Parking lot? Why, Walmart does! According to this verse, God has set Walmart as the authority over the Walmart parking lot.

Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
Verse 2

That’s right! Not only is Walmart the God appointed authority of the Walmart parking lot, but if you resist the authority of Walmart, you will receive judgement. So, if Walmart was to say, put up a sign that says to return shopping carts to the shopping cart receptacles, then one could assume that by not returning your shopping cart…

Okay, so what I’m saying here is sort of silly, but that doesn’t make it any less true. There are plenty of passages in the Bible that go along with Romans 13 (see list below), all of which imply that as Christians we must obey the authorities placed above us by God. This includes our presidents, governors, mayors, police officers, teachers, bosses and even the rules set by grocery stores to govern their store. Unless the authority is telling you to do something inherently sinful, it is sinful on our part to disobey.

So don’t sin (and don’t be a jerk) and please return your shopping cart.

Bible passages regarding obeying authority: Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 2:13-17, Luke 20:25, 1 John 3:4