Black Friday Advice

Titus 3:3-5

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Black Friday is a household term for us here in America. We’re all familiar with what that day is. It’s the biggest shopping day of the year takes place the day after Thanksgiving. Everyone has off that day, and so they’re looking forward to buying gifts for the next holiday: Christmas. It’s perhaps a bit strange that it has that name, though Black Friday. It sounds like something tragic happened on that day. But perhaps that name isn’t all too inappropriate, after all, traffic and parking is a nightmare on that day, and I think about the crowds all jam packed into the stores. How fistfights have been known to break out in some of those stores. People driven on by their greed for the things they can buy or the money that they’re going to save, it’s made people downright nasty towards each other on that day.

I don’t know about you, but I know there have been some years that I’ve fallen into that trap of greed that comes along with Black Friday. Reading through some of those advertisements from the stores, just imagine the things that I’m going to buy for myself, for the money that I’m going to save for others. Perhaps that greed, though, is a good reminder of why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. In Titus, chapter 3, it says this.

For at one time we ourselves were also foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by many kinds of evil desires and pleasures, living in malice and jealousy, being hated and hating one another. (Titus 3:3)

Maybe reminds us of Black Friday and those crowds, those mobs, those fistfights, the way that people treat one another, motivated spurred on by their greed. But it goes on.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, 5 he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:4-5)

Mentions how God’s love and mercy appeared, we think about how that took place at Christmas time. As God sent his Son as our Savior from sin. What did he come to do? It came ultimately to save us from ourselves, to save us from the results of our sinful desires, including our greed. On Black Friday, we think about how that greed leads people to treat each other so terribly. How much more all of our sinful desires and thoughts lead to so much destruction in our own lives. And yet, God sent his Son Christmas time as our Savior from sin.

You know, it’s interesting that Black Friday has that name, that’s quite ironic because the name in which Jesus carried out his plan of salvation for us also seems similar, yet quite ironic. It’s known as Good Friday. It seems so ironic because of how terrible it was for him to suffer so much, though he was innocent, though he had done nothing wrong. The pains of the cross itself. And yet it’s an appropriate name, because that day was a good day for us. Because of his suffering, pain and death, he has saved us from our own sinful desires and their results. The destruction that sin brings.

So is it OK to go shopping on Black Friday? I’d say yes, but keep an eye on that greed showing up in your own life? If that greed rears its ugly head, repent of your sins and turn to your Savior who was born for you at Christmas time. Who has come to suffer and die for you on a cross. Remember again, not just Black Friday, but Good Friday and what he did for you there. Amen.