Is It Just Black Friday?

I recently took part in Black Friday for the first time - it was an experience. As soon as the excitement of 50-60% off wore off (about after an hour of standing in line), it became a lot of cranky soccer moms, thrifty college students, and early Christmas shoppers all trying to navigate the early morning hours.

In what can only be described as an ironic twist, these people who hours earlier had sat down at a table and told everyone (truthfully) that they were thankful for the little things in life - sunshine on a cloudy day, the smell of fresh baked bread, spending time with family and friends - are now putting all of that satisfaction behind them and placing it in material objects and are no longer satisfied by sunshine. This irony has been identified on the internet by meme makers.

Now before you, like a high schooler looking to pick a fight after an intro class, declare me to be a hypocrite since I too went Black Friday shopping I want to state that this is not what my post is about and that I am including myself in this observation.

As ironic as it is, I find it even more interesting that we believe that it only lasts on Friday (or the weekend, as most store now have their sales lasting that long). This "me-centric" ideology continues for the next month - Black Friday is like the pep rally to the big game of Christmas. We spend one day (Thanksgiving) being thankful for the many blessings that we have been given, then a month thinking about material things that would make us happy until on Christmas we are once again shown that it isn't the things that come wrapped in string but the people who gave them to us that matter most.

So here is my challenge, during this next month that leads up to Christmas don't lose sight of what truly matters. There is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy that latest design, or toy, or gadget - but don't let that distract you from the things that you should truly be thankful for. It will be difficult - if you need proof just look at the people who fought outside the local mall until being pepper sprayed just hours after telling their family that if they had nothing it would be ok because they had each other - but don't let that discourage you.

As a Christian, I believe that "Jesus is the reason for the season" so let's not commit treason this season by giving glory to someone other than the one who came to earth as a man and died so that we might have life. That is the greatest gift of all, and you are not going to find that in a brochure or advertisement. It's not going to go on sale at midnight (b/c it's free!) nor is it going to be in a buy one get one sale (b/c it is all you need!). Let's not forget this amidst the snow and lights and festive music, but let us enjoy these things through Jesus for it is by doing this that we shall truly be thankful.

The Election

Unless you are living under a rock (in which case I ask, how did you get reception down there? b/c I go into a basement of a building and I get nothing) you know that there was an election in the US recently. Also, unless you were living under a rock you probably were on social media at least once, and have seen the way that they exploded in response to Obama being reelected. Tweets/Status updates like the following appeared like a red light when you're late for work:

"I'm moving to Canada"
"America is going down the drain"
"What have we done?!"

then about a half hour later a new breed of "Christian" updates arrived:

"America needs Jesus. My hope is in him!"
"Let's pray for the president"
"Good thing my citizenship isn't of this world!"

Now while these last updates can be Christian and are good things to remember - that we need to pray for those in authority, we need to be missional, and we need to not be of the world - this is not how they were presented. It was only after our human attempts to "save" America (because was all know that Jesus was a Republican...) were thwarted, that we turned to God. We did not turn to God because we were seeking his will, and desiring his will to be done - we were turning to God because we had not gotten our way. (Before I continue, I want to give props to those people who put status' which stated that they voted, and that they were now praying for the process and whoever might win)

Now this isn't meant to be a political rant, nor is it supposed to be something that makes you angry. We complain about how all of a sudden politicians are religious every time they need to be elected - yet we only remember that God has calls us to remember those in authority and pray for them after our candidate does not make it. When we do this our prayers are not true prayers, but are prayers laced with toxins. We do not pray that God might be with our leaders and that he give them wisdom to lead our country in a wise and honorable way - we pray that God might be with our leader (because he really needs help) and that he be given wisdom (because my candidate would have been better) to lead our country in a wise and honorable way (because we all know that he intends to do none of these things, but is secretly a <insert favorite villain here> whose only goal is to ruin everything).

Let's pray for those who are in authority, regardless of their political affiliation. Let's show them a true respect, not one dripping with sarcasm. What sets us apart if we don't honor those in authority?

Do we need God in America again? Yes.
Is God a Democrat? No.
Is God a Republican? No.
Are we called to honor those in authority over us whether they are Republican or Democrat or a tyrannical ruler who is using the bodies of Christians to light his garden (yep...Obama doesn't look so bad now does he...)? Yes.

So let's pray for those who we have elected, not because "they" need God but because we all need God and we are called to do it.