Once again, I hear the rumble. No, it is not the sound of my stomach in eager anticipation for Thanksgiving food…ahhh. No, it is the thunder of footsteps and the roaring of car engines as once again, Black Friday is coming. It is that time of year that prompt executives and managers to push discounts and deals, and that day retail workers pray they can endure. If you are reading this now and have gone Black Friday shopping in the past, I don’t blame you. If you plan on it this year, I don’t blame you either. I only write this blog to share an experience I once had while Black Friday shopping (Ok, more like, I was dragged to go shopping 🙂
It happened a few years ago, and it started by waiting in line at a large department store chain around midnight on Black Friday. The store was to open, and the organized chaos under the guise of “buying and selling” was about to commence. When the doors were unlocked and the line of people, which by this point had wrapped around the store completely, streamed into the store, I came through and started to take in my surroundings. As I walked through the entrance toward the back of the store and turned a corner, I just stopped and did some observing. What I saw, I can only compare to most film portrayals of Wall Street: the shouting, noisy, incoherent, mad rush back and forth of who can spend the most (or least) money in the least amount of time. Only here it was rushing to find the best deals, the exact toy or electronic, or the quickest checkout lane. As I stood there, slowly continuing to peer around, I reflected, “None of what is bought here can truly satisfy.” “Why is everyone chasing these temporary trinkets that are here today and gone tomorrow?” I am not suggesting that gifts go unappreciated. I appreciate mine and I am sure you do too. Yet, how far have we come when the striving for what is temporary has overshadowed the striving for what is permanent?
The same Lord and Savior who rested His head in a stable in Bethlehem is the same who said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth that rust away or risk being stolen, but store up treasures in heaven, against which there is no such risk of rust, loss, or theft. These are the treasures our heavenly Father wants us to press on to attain: charity, love, mercy to our fellow man and woman, faithfulness, steadfastness, truth, and grace. I am going to try to put these virtues into practice this Christmas. Remember friends, God gave us the best gift of all when we did not deserve it, Jesus Christ. We have been discussing radical freedom in my church’s sermon series, and maybe part of that freedom of the gospel is that we do no have to worry about competing for who can get the most numerous and most expensive material possessions. These are not what define us. It is God our heavenly Father who gives us our worth and has shown us just how priceless we are. The cross reminds us of that. That is why we can have joy this and every Christmas no matter our situation.
Be blessed friends:
“Christmas my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it is Christmas.”-Dale Evans Rogers.