Black Friday, Charcoal Thursday?

Are you one of those people that can’t wait for the day after Thanksgiving to do your best to boost the American economy through your pursuit of great bargains on the so-called “Black Friday”?

Happily, this year you don’t have to wait. Many retail institutions have kindly agreed to open their doors early. Not even in the wee hours of Friday morning, but Thursday evening, while remnants of the turkey-basted holiday still lie scattered on tables and kitchen counters across the USA. Don’t you just love this country?

Doze-inducing tryptophan is still coursing through our veins; some of the Thanksgiving Day football games haven’t even kicked off yet; helium still holds some of the holiday parade balloons aloft, and we have an early opportunity to engage in that great American holiday – spending money we don’t have to buy gifts for people we don’t even like that much, to give them things they don’t really need.

But that’s what America, capitalism and conspicuous consumption are all about right? Especially at Christmas.

I’ll never forget President George W. Bush’s cautionary closing words when he spoke the day following the events of 9/11: “Don’t stop shopping.” He understood, of course, our national economy is based on our propensity for buying stuff, satisfying our wants as well as our needs. That holds true even in times of frivolity and celebration. If we all suddenly decided to take a spending sabbatical, even a week or two, it would usher in economic chaos.

So if you hear the siren song of the mall around 6 p.m. or so on Thanksgiving Day, don’t feel guilty if you feel compelled to rush right over and take out your credit cards – or cash, if you’re into that kind of thing – and spend, spend, spend to save. You’ll be a true patriot, giving the U.S. economy a much-needed shot in the arm. Don’t even think of it as Thanksgiving Day – rather, in deference to Black Friday, call it Charcoal Thursday. (Especially if you managed to overcook the turkey a bit.)

But while you’re doing that, consider the advice Jesus gave to followers and curiosity seekers while delivering His sermon on the mount:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, whether moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Don’t let me Scrooge all over your very early Christmas preparations. I’ll admit to enjoying the seasonal gift exchange tradition myself. But while we’re singing about having ourselves a merry little Christmas and roasting chestnuts over an open fire, it’s never too early to start remembering the real reason for the season.

It’s not about things concealed in pretty paper and bows that will break, fall apart or wear out before the next Christmas rolls around. They’re nice and fun and all that. But ultimately, the Christmas season is – or should be – about a much greater treasure.

Black Fridays and Blue Christmases

My wife and I did not get caught up in the “Black Friday” craziness this year. We did get “amongst ‘em” a bit later in the day, just for a glimpse of the aftermath, but didn’t join the jamming of the stores late Thursday evening, or before the crack of dawn on Friday. (I prefer to listen for the “crack” first, and then get out of bed.)

I don’t know who invented this annual hysteria, but whoever it was (he/she/they), what an incredible idea. Feed on American materialism, stir in generous doses of greed, selfishness and covetousness, and you have a recipe to suit any retailer’s taste - and bottom line.

Instead of Santa Claus, shouldn't the symbols
of Christmas be the manger - and the cross?

Seriously, I don’t condemn those who make the “ultimate sacrifice” of forgoing sleep and such, in the quest for incredible bargains. Who doesn’t like saving money? But I wonder: Is this what Jesus had in mind on that first Christmas?

Recently I came across a quote from Roy L. Smith concerning Christmas in which he stated, “He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” I’d not heard of Mr. Smith before, but I totally agree.

Over the next several weeks, many of us will be searching for the perfect gift for a loved one or friend, but the truth is, Christmas really isn’t about stuff. I wish the Bible said that, but I can’t find those exact words. The general idea is there, however.

The apostle Paul, for example, wrote, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). He also stated, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). In other words, Paul was determined to “keep the main thing the main thing,” and not become distracted by lesser things.

Elvis Presley, among others, sang, “I’ll have a blue Christmas without you.” As the magic day draws near, let’s resolve to keep Christ in Christmas. It will be a blue Christmas without Him.