The term “Black Friday” stems from the 1960s mostly in the East but since 2000 it has caught on throughout the country. The term refers to the day when retailers make their move to being in “the black” financially. Yea, 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 bargins before they care 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 someone in the next few months. However, the more people save, the worse the economy becomes. It’s sort of a no win 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- do charge more than you can pay for 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 know 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.
I found a wonderful website about Jesus and money (click here). The author has taken the time to chart each reference and what it is about and comes up with a chart. 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