Yes…it happened.
I was lounging around watching the television this past Thanksgiving weekend when I saw something that I really was not sure that I could grasp. I knew that it bothered me, and I knew that it was wrong, and I knew that I did not feel right on the inside at all, but I did not know how to respond to it. In case you missed it…here is the New York Times version of the story that has been on the news for the last several days.
Now, I am not a shopper. I have never been and will not soon be a fan of “Black Friday.” Not because I am a grinch, but because I really do not like traffic. That includes all traffic. I don’t like highway traffic, lines in the stores, parking in a crowded lot…I really do not like any of it. I have never really been fond of the way people react to one another and store employees on this day (or most other days for that matter). But this story caught even me off guard. Maybe it should not have, but it did.
What does this say about us? What does it say about the state of our culture? What does it say about our witness? What does it say about me…if anything? What does it say to you? Most of all: What can I learn from it…and how do I change for tomorrow because of it?
Last Friday was just that…”Black”.
Thoughts?
CT
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Comments
Posted Dec 2nd at 5:49 pm
All I had to do was look at the headline and I was completely and utterly shocked. I read further that it took place on Black Friday and second thought was that we, as a society in general, are completely OBSESSED with material goods. Obsessed. It’s sick.
When did anything become more important that humanity? It’s worth a human life… for a Christmas bargain?
But you know what, I see this all the time…even on very small scales. We make other things more important than people all the time. I’m guilty of it too. When I was robbed in Argentina, I cursed the man who did it…in my thoughts. I was angry, and I understand that anger is justifiable because its ok to hate sin, in this case stealing. But it doesn’t matter whether or not what he did was right or wrong. My heart said that my money that he took from me was more important than he was. My actions showed that. Even if it was just in my thoughts. I could have responded so much better.
Maybe what happened at Wal Mart on Black Friday is merely a sympton of a much deeper issue. We need to get our priorities straight…even in the smallest, seemingly insignificant ways that no one sees.
Posted Dec 4th at 4:05 pm
What is says is this: we as a people are as selfish and self-centered as we have always been. And it saddens me that we are so “gift”-oriented rather than grace-oriented. Want to get gifts. We want to give gifts because we like the way it makes us feel or we want something in return. Honestly, what guy ever gave his wife lingerie for HER to enjoy?!?
And, in the end, it makes me even more sure that next year I’ll be encouraging Layman to join the Advent Conspiracy (http://www.adventconspiracy.org).