Anti-Black Friday
Posted by Todd Rhoades in Current Events on Nov 28th, 2011 | 3 comments
From the “give me a break” file comes this:
While thousands of bargain hunters hit the stores for Black Friday deals, several churches are choosing to start the Christmas season with “Bless Friday” by giving back to the community.
And these churches are hoping to get their message across to Americans. “People get our message that when we focus too much on buying things, we lose sight of the real reason for Christmas – remembering and honoring Christ,” said Chuck Fox, founder of Bless Friday, in a statement. “We want to begin our Christmas celebration by serving others just as Jesus did.”
Fox launched Bless Friday in 2010 after hearing a sermon on how Americans are losing sight of the real reason for Christmas.
The message of Bless Friday in a nutshell: It’s a day for service not shopping.
“On the day after Thanksgiving, millions of people started their Christmas celebration at malls and other retail outlets,” the website for Bless Friday states. “This can’t be the way that God intends Christians to prepare for the celebration of the coming of the Savior of the World. And what begins poorly also ends poorly.”
via Churches Say No to Black Friday, Yes to Bless Friday, Christian News.
I think helping your neighbor and keeping the real meaning of Christmas is a good thing… don’t get me wrong. But I think this movement has a couple things working against it:
1. It’s another thing the church is now against: Black Friday. Just add it to the list of things that we, Christians, oppose. Much better, I think, to pick any other day, and start something positive rather than start something positive as a default to something else you find negative. Kind of like the fake proms I went to in high school (because real dancing leads to… well… you know) or the Harvest parties that many churches do as a Halloween alternative. The people we’re trying to reach look at that and say… “how absurd”. Most recent really bad idea was this year’s JesusWeen.
2. We Christians are just as consumeristic and bargain conscience as our non-Christian counterparts. You’re asking me to give up $500 off a huge HD TV to help you bless someone else? Maybe Saturday, dude… but I gots plans for Friday, thanks.
And don’t even get me started on Cyber-Monday.
What do YOU think?
3 Responses to “ “Anti-Black Friday”
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Hey Todd,
Good thoughts! I agree with your premise that we should stop being the “anti-everything” Church.
In the Ministries I am blessed to be part of, we do our best to go where people are, and use whatever form of communication that will best show God’s love to our community.
So, instead of being anti-Black Friday, maybe we could go along with our friends and spouses to the early shopping and some could shop while others could serve bagels and juice/coffee to shoppers standing in those huge lines. “Here’s a bagel. Jesus loves you!”
Be the Face of Love where they are instead of telling them they’re evil for being there.
Todd, I’m in full agreement with the essence of what you’re saying…we too often define ourselves by what we’re against, and the message of the Gospel becomes a self-righteous separatism.
However, can I push back a little on what you say in point number 2? Maybe it’s just the way you put it, but I’m not at all comfortable with your assessment:
“We Christians are just as consumeristic and bargain conscience as our non-Christian counterparts. You’re asking me to give up $500 off a huge HD TV to help you bless someone else? Maybe Saturday, dude… but I gots plans for Friday, thanks.”
Now it may be true that Christians are consumeristic, but I hope we’re not embracing that. I hope we continue to battle that counterfeit god. The rest of your statement makes it sound like it’s just unrealistic that Jesus would ask us to sacrifice giving up $500 off (or sacrifice the need to have a huge HD TV). I hope that’s not the case. Otherwise, we’re all walking away sadly from Jesus like the rich young man.
Just a thought.
I hope you understand my point #2 was a tad bit tongue in cheek; but I fear it’s more true than we’d like to believe.