Let go of my TV before I pound your face. Oh, by the way Jesus loves you and I do too.
It is that time of year again. After spending Thursday being thankful for what we have we spend Friday fighting for the things we don't. We want new things so bad now we can't wait until Friday or even early Friday morning so we don't even take a full day to be thankful. We skip out just after the pumpkin pie to get in line to trade elbows with all the other grateful people. After all we are getting into the "Christmas spirit" to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. If we don't save that $40.00 on that big screen TV it just will not be Christmas. I don't think Jesus wants to take the credit for the season of shopping. He is the reason for Christmas not Black Friday. Retailers and consumers are the reason for that. After all if the consumers didn't buy the retailers wouldn't be open. On the flip side if the retailers didn't open the consumers couldn't buy so there is enough blame to go around to the greedy retailers and the blood thirsty consumers.
I am one of those poor souls that has been on both sides of the Black Friday War. I have been there as a consumer trying to keep up with my wife and sister in the mall while carrying 33 bags dodging the other pack horses (husbands). I have also been on the retail side in a big box store, Target. Most of my time at Target was spent as a Logistics Team Lead which meant I was part of the team that had to get the golden merchandise out to the battle arena. This proved to be both complicated and dangerous. I saw ladies sneaking toys out of other people's buggies. After all they needed them for the angel they got off an Angel Tree. I had to pull a TV out of the claws of a man who had just broke in line and took one out of the hands of an expecting mother. But my favorite was the lady I saw wearing the classic "Jesus is the reason for the season" sweatshirt during my second Black Friday at Target. She used language I didn't even know. I went to look them up in the dictionary and it just said, "You don't want to know." She was throwing elbows, pushing people of all ages out of her way and telling people how bad she was going to beat them if they didn't let her get what she wanted. I told her nice sweatshirt and she gave me one of the meanest looks I have ever received.
There is no sale that any store will have this weekend that will be worth you losing your Christian witness over. I don't care if Best Buy has laptops for $10.00 it will still not be worth it. Christians let me remind you that you represent Jesus even on Black Friday. How you treat your fellow shoppers will be more important than how much money you save. How you treat the poor retail workers will be more important than that box of Legos. Let me give you a few Black Friday tips that will help you spread Christmas Cheer or as I like to call it, the love of Jesus, to all you encounter this year.
1. In case you haven't noticed there is a lot of other people shopping that day. So the lines will be long. Most of the people running the cash registers are not seasoned pros. They are seasonal people who have been hired to help the store survive the Christmas rush. Rushing them will only make things worse. They understand you are in a hurry to get off to your next adventure but so are the other thousand people they will check out that day. I know it breaks your heart but you are no better than other 999 people. They are doing their best. Instead of calling their momma's names be nice and encourage them. (Ephesians 4:29)
2. Christmas will still be special even if you do not get that $5.00 blender. Knocking people down, passing people, and pushing through crowed to grab that blender is unacceptable even if it is a gift for your grandmother. As much as retailers want you to believe it, Christmas is not about the gifts you give. It is about the gift your have already received, salvation. (Romans 6:23)
3. The retail workers do not want to be there. They are not getting an inflated pay rate for working Black Friday. There is no Christmas bonus for them. They didn't have a choice to be there, you did. So treat them with respect and be thankful they are there to check to see if there is a Bob in the backroom because all of the Minions on the sales floor are Stuarts and Kevins. (Matthew 7:12)
4. There will be rude or grumpy people out and about. They will do things that are not polite. They will pass, they will push, they will cuss, they will steal and they will be plain mean. You do not have to be just because they are. As Christians we are called to be different 365 days a year, 366 days next year. So that includes Black Friday. (Matthew 5:13)
5. Remember why we celebrate Christmas. It has nothing to do with a fat guy with a white beard and a funny red suit. It is not just a time to regift the fruitcake you got last year. It is not about gifts. It is not even about family. It is about a Savior born in a manager that would grow up to be the Messiah that died on the cross and 3 days later arise from the tomb to go and prepare a place for us in His Father's house. So that someday He can come get us and take us to that place. So this year don't worry so much about your Christmas list. Instead spend time being thankful your name is on the list of names in the Lamb's Book of Life. If it is not on that list, you should seek out the greatest gift ever, Jesus. (Luke 2:11; I Peter 2:24; John 14:1-6)
Parting Thought: Christmas gifts come and go but the gift of salvation last forever.
I am one of those poor souls that has been on both sides of the Black Friday War. I have been there as a consumer trying to keep up with my wife and sister in the mall while carrying 33 bags dodging the other pack horses (husbands). I have also been on the retail side in a big box store, Target. Most of my time at Target was spent as a Logistics Team Lead which meant I was part of the team that had to get the golden merchandise out to the battle arena. This proved to be both complicated and dangerous. I saw ladies sneaking toys out of other people's buggies. After all they needed them for the angel they got off an Angel Tree. I had to pull a TV out of the claws of a man who had just broke in line and took one out of the hands of an expecting mother. But my favorite was the lady I saw wearing the classic "Jesus is the reason for the season" sweatshirt during my second Black Friday at Target. She used language I didn't even know. I went to look them up in the dictionary and it just said, "You don't want to know." She was throwing elbows, pushing people of all ages out of her way and telling people how bad she was going to beat them if they didn't let her get what she wanted. I told her nice sweatshirt and she gave me one of the meanest looks I have ever received.
There is no sale that any store will have this weekend that will be worth you losing your Christian witness over. I don't care if Best Buy has laptops for $10.00 it will still not be worth it. Christians let me remind you that you represent Jesus even on Black Friday. How you treat your fellow shoppers will be more important than how much money you save. How you treat the poor retail workers will be more important than that box of Legos. Let me give you a few Black Friday tips that will help you spread Christmas Cheer or as I like to call it, the love of Jesus, to all you encounter this year.
1. In case you haven't noticed there is a lot of other people shopping that day. So the lines will be long. Most of the people running the cash registers are not seasoned pros. They are seasonal people who have been hired to help the store survive the Christmas rush. Rushing them will only make things worse. They understand you are in a hurry to get off to your next adventure but so are the other thousand people they will check out that day. I know it breaks your heart but you are no better than other 999 people. They are doing their best. Instead of calling their momma's names be nice and encourage them. (Ephesians 4:29)
2. Christmas will still be special even if you do not get that $5.00 blender. Knocking people down, passing people, and pushing through crowed to grab that blender is unacceptable even if it is a gift for your grandmother. As much as retailers want you to believe it, Christmas is not about the gifts you give. It is about the gift your have already received, salvation. (Romans 6:23)
3. The retail workers do not want to be there. They are not getting an inflated pay rate for working Black Friday. There is no Christmas bonus for them. They didn't have a choice to be there, you did. So treat them with respect and be thankful they are there to check to see if there is a Bob in the backroom because all of the Minions on the sales floor are Stuarts and Kevins. (Matthew 7:12)
5. Remember why we celebrate Christmas. It has nothing to do with a fat guy with a white beard and a funny red suit. It is not just a time to regift the fruitcake you got last year. It is not about gifts. It is not even about family. It is about a Savior born in a manager that would grow up to be the Messiah that died on the cross and 3 days later arise from the tomb to go and prepare a place for us in His Father's house. So that someday He can come get us and take us to that place. So this year don't worry so much about your Christmas list. Instead spend time being thankful your name is on the list of names in the Lamb's Book of Life. If it is not on that list, you should seek out the greatest gift ever, Jesus. (Luke 2:11; I Peter 2:24; John 14:1-6)
Parting Thought: Christmas gifts come and go but the gift of salvation last forever.
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