The term “Black Friday” began to be used in the 1960s mostly in the east, but since 2000 it has caught on across the country. The term refers to the day when retailers make their move to being in “the black” financially. Yeah, we all know that people go crazy the day after Thanksgiving – it must be in the turkey.  Stores open at ridiculously early hours and people are standing in line to push and shove to get the best bargains before they are gobbled up (sorry, turkey).

Now, here is the catch. With the economy the way it is, the more people save, the more likely they are to survive the next round of financial collapse, which is sometime in the next few months.  However, the more people save, the worse the economy becomes.  It’s sort of a no-win situation at the moment.

So what should we do? Live within our means, whatever that means for you. I think Jesus would go for that. For most people it means having one credit card and paying it off every month. That’s right – don’t charge more than you can pay off at the end of the month.

I was in my forties before I had my first credit card and I did okay.  Didn’t have much, but didn’t think I had to have a lot to be okay. Hopefully, we will return to that understanding now that the shoe has dropped on so many of us.

We’ve all heard it said that Jesus talked more about money than anything else.  That should tell us something. We also know that the love of money is the root of all evil.  There’s nothing wrong with money, but there’s a lot wrong with what it does to us. Black Friday is just one example. I don’t understand people who love to shop so much that they spend hours just shopping even though they have no clue what they are looking for.

There’s nothing wrong with money, but there’s a lot wrong with what it does to us.

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I found a wonderful article about Jesus and money (click here to view the article). The author has taken the time to chart what each reference to money is about. The interesting thing is that almost 40% of the references are tied to discipleship. Guess what? How we handle our money says a lot about who we are.

So this Black Friday, stay home. And don’t give in to the many Black Friday emails you’ll get today offering you some deal you can’t afford to miss.

Go count your pennies and put them in the bank.

Bill Easum
www.churchconsultations.com
easum@aol.com

Question: What are some alternatives to shopping that would make a positive use of your Black Friday? Share your ideas in the Comments section below.

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