In the United States, we have just celebrated a day of thankfulness for all the good things we have enjoyed over the past year. The theme of Thanksgiving has changed just a mite. At one time, the thankfulness was directed towards God.
For many people, it remains a day of worship. However, for others, it is merely a day in which to get together with family, eat a lot, and finish up by watching football. It is also the day the proceeds Black Friday.
Black Friday is the day in the year when retail stores cut prices in order to entice customers to spend all of their Christmas gift budget in their store. It was named thus because it was the day when the stores profits went from being in the red to being in the black.
Black Friday. I haven’t participated in Black Friday shopping in many years. When I was in my twenties and had little money, I would wait in line at one store in order to spread my small budget over three children.
As time went on, the crowds at Black Friday sales became rougher, with fights breaking out and, sometimes, much worse. I stopped shopping on that day decades ago. It simply wasn’t worth the risk of being trampled as people battled over bits and pieces of merchandise.
Isn’t it sad that we are willing to fight one another over a few dollars or, in some cases, a few cents?
It seems like we have put possessions above people. I see something, I want it, and I will fight pretty much to the death to get it. What in the world could be worth this kind of behavior? It appears that it is more about the battle to get the item than it is about the item itself. A kind of I’ve got it and you don’t mentality.
Some of the people, at these sales, are individuals who go to church on Sunday morning, sing worship songs and say “Praise the Lord!” However, in their hearts, they are truly worshiping the things of the world.
Maybe it is a large screen TV, or a nifty new vacuum cleaner. Maybe it is a washcloth. Maybe it is simply the need to accumulate more and more.
It’s gotten so far out of hand, it has almost become a spectator sport as well. Those who don’t go Black Friday shopping watch with glee as the news reports the battles in detail. It’s even better if there is video of people fighting over what is mostly junk that will break shortly thereafter. From God’s standpoint, those who watch with enjoyment are as guilty as those who are actually part of the battles.
We have so much and yet we want more. When asked, though, most would say that they have a lot and have no need of more. They will boast of what they have, saying that they are great! They have the means and the ability to get what they want and to get whatever they want done.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The rampant consumerism of this country and all of the other first world countries has spawned generations of people who think they have no need of God’s help.
They say things like “God helps those who help themselves.” That isn’t from the Bible, it is from ancient mythology. We all of us need help from God.
Still, those Bible people who are out swinging fists and shoving baskets on Black Friday, must think that they have what it takes. They will do what they have to do.
God has a special word to say for those in his church who think they are rich and self-sufficient. He literally tells them that their behavior makes him sick enough to vomit them out of his mouth.
Even if you don’t shop on Black Friday, you may still be part of the church which sickens God. If you are feeling pretty full of yourself and feel like you have got your own back and don’t need God’s help, you just maybe are part of this same church that God has spoken to millennia ago.
So many in our generation fall into this category. I know because, in the past, I have been part of that number.
God has been good and gracious to me. He has used events in my life to shock me out of complacency and to realize that I can only rely on him. Relying on myself has led me to the brink of disaster, over and over again.
Each time that I have started thinking that I had my own answers, I now realize, it really meant that I was looking more at myself and no longer looking to God. It is a sinful cycle that repeats over and over again.
Thankfully, the cycles seem to be slowing down and I am learning, more and more, to rely only on God. I sometimes laugh at how I used to be. More often, I am sorrowful and wish I had learned my lesson earlier and with less tragic consequences.
Still, with my sorrow comes repentance and a determination to change my ways. This is only possible with God’s help, so I ask him to help me to stay focused on the tasks that he has set before me.
I ask him to give me the strength in my spirit to do his will. I ask him to help me look beyond myself and keep my eyes on him. These are the types of requests that God wants from his children and they are the kind of prayers that he will always answer.
Revelation 3:14-21
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”