Amazon Go Grocery – No Human Required

Can you believe it? I’m still in shock! During our weekly ZOOM call, my son and his wife (now living in Washington state), described their grocery shopping experience completed only minutes before we spoke. They now go to “Amazon GO Grocery”, a completely empty, unmanned grocery store.

Yes, you heard me right. You park outside, arrive and input your Amazon prime number into the scanner, and from that moment forward you see no one except possibly another shopper, of which there are few. You choose from an array of the freshest vegetables and healthiest foods (similar to Trader Joe’s), and simply put your selections in the cart.

You bag your groceries on the way out (yes, some unseen scanner or camera even knows how may bags you’ve selected to hold your items) and then you leave. You simply walk out of the store with all your items. No self-checkout. No scanner. No person attending. NO ONE. Soon you receive a receipt on your phone describing every item you picked up and the total cost billed to your credit card, which is attached to your Amazon Prime account. Voila! A cashless society, free of human interference, with no human interaction.

“The Jetson’s” lifestyle portrayed in childhood television cartoons, now exists. I’m still baffled. My son pulled up a photo of the store on his phone and showed it to me as I marveled in disbelief.

While our society works so hard to remove human touch and interaction, the deep significance of human relationships in developing healthy individuals cannot be overstated. Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine states in a recent blog, “As humans, the relationships we form with other people are vital to our mental and emotional wellbeing, and really, our survival. Humans have an inherent desire to be close to other people… to connect and build relationships.

“While a man stranded on an island, talking to a volleyball (you remember the movie!) isn’t necessarily “healthy,” his compulsion for company is. That’s because the fact of the matter is, healthy relationships (romantic relationships, friendships, familial relationships — they all count!) can help make for a healthier overall life.”

God created us for relationship. It is foundational to our mental, emotional, and physical health. Why? Because our Creator desires relationship with us. He loves us. He knows it is important that we are part of a community. But most importantly, He knows we need His community, the Body of Christ. Our relationship with Jesus promises His Presence and guarantees we are never alone.

So as you persevere through this historic pandemic, remember someone is waiting for you to reach out and touch them. Someone needs your thoughtful phone call, simple email, or caring note. Amazon may not need people to survive, but we do. Your touch may actually save a life, a marriage, or a family.

And remember, “For this is the message you heard from the beginning. We should love one another…This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters… Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and truth.”

Let’s take action today and spend time letting someone know we care!