Black Friday or Good Friday?

Friday morning, November 23, 2007 [32 days until Christmas!]
My morning routine is probably not what most expect from a preacher (no comments from the peanut gallery, please!). Upon awakening, I walk to the kitchen and turn on the coffee pot (usually just after attending to a personal matter or two), then make my way back to my bathroom, where I brush my teeth, shower, and then dress for the day. Then, as if I am driven to do so, I walk outside and retrieve the morning paper (I really do not know why because most of it is, well, it is not worth reading), make my cup of coffee and my bowl of cereal, and then I sit down at my kitchen table to eat, drink, and read, not the Bible but the paper. As I am writing this, I am also wondering why I even read the Telegraph; now that I think about it, I think I do so just to be sure that I am not in the obituaries. Obviously, my name was missing this morning, which is a good thing because I have several things I want to do today, not the least of which is direct a funeral for someone else (“someone else” being the operative words).
Anyway, this morning, the paper reminded me that today is Black Friday, and when I said it reminded me, I mean that it did so in a not-so-subtle-manner; there must have been five pounds of advertisements from every store imaginable stuffed into the paper, along with several articles about Black Friday, scattered throughout the various sections. After I finished my morning routine and walked into my office to begin this “perspective”, I heard someone on the TV talking about Black Friday. OK! I get the message; today is Black Friday all over the good ole USA!
Just in case you haven’t figured this out, as of yet, I thought I would tell you that the “black” in Black Friday really means that the retailers are doing everything they can (surreptitiously, of course), to sucker you and me into bailing them out of the RED and putting them into the BLACK! They REALLY want today to be BLACK Friday, and I cannot say that I blame them for that. (Just before I finished writing the previous sentence, someone in another state called me, and in the conversation, told me that she arrived at Penny’s at 3:30 this morning, to get-in on those incredible bargains. She even told me how happy she was to have saved so much money (I never have understood how one saves money, while spending it!), so I guess the retailer’s scheme is working—BIG TIME!
Now, I am NOT attempting to be a “scrooge”, nor am I attempting to put a “damper” on your holiday shopping experience, especially if you are planning on buying me nice (expensive!) gift; however, I am attempting to remind you that there is an enemy, who will be doing everything that God will allow Him to do , in an effort to distract you from the “simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus.” And, I might add, he will push the envelope to the limit, and then some, if he can get away with it (thankfully, God has him on His leash!).
My intention with this “perspective” is to remind you that Jesus really is the reason for this season (and every season for that matter), and in doing so, to encourage you not to get caught-up in the commercialization of the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The truth is this: He never has been for sale or for rent, and everything He has is already ours—free of charge to us—and He has promised to meet all of our needs according to His riches in glory!
To be honest, this is the season for us to focus on the “simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus” and to refuse to be distracted by the Wall Street’s desire to be in the BLACK!
To heck with Black Friday; for us, it is another GOOD FRIDAY! Hallelujah!