The Problems With Black Friday

by Chris Simmons

The term “Black Friday” has become a common expression to refer to the beginning of the shopping season and the opportunity for retailers to lure shoppers with bargains and sales. Over the years, a greater degree of emphasis and attention has been given to the opportunity to get a once a year deal. While the point is not that it’s wrong to shop or seek to save money on things we need, Christians need to be wary of other temptations that have cropped up with this recent American tradition.

Greed. Again, it’s not wrong to seek to save money on those things we need or on expressions of love and appreciation for others. It is sinful to have an insatiable appetite for more and more material things. We foolishly believe that since the presence of idols of wood or stone is uncommon in our society that idolatry is not a problem anymore. However, Paul writes in Colossians 3:5 that greed is in fact idolatry – that is, the worship of material things rather than setting our minds on the things above. Colossians 3:5-6, “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” We read of a similar comparison in Ephesians 5:5 where Paul equates a “covetous man” with someone who also is “an idolater.” Paul notes in Romans 1:29 that greed is one of the defining characteristics of apostasy and happens when we do “not see fit to acknowledge God any longer” (Romans 1:28) and develop a “depraved mind.” As we read the context of Ephesians 4:17-19, we see that greed is part and parcel with a life of ignorance, callousness, impurity, and sensuality. Therefore, we ought not to be surprised that Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:3-4 that greed is “not to be named among you,” is not fitting or proper for Christians, and is to be overcome with a heart that focuses on the “giving of thanks.”

Lack of contentment and thankfulness. The idea of Black Friday becomes wrong when we are simply no longer content with, and no longer thankful for, blessings we have already received. We read of a plea for contentment in Proverbs 30:7-9, “Two things I asked of You, do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, That I not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.” Paul shares a “secret” with us in Philippians 4:11-13 that if we are not presently content, it’s something we can learn. “Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” As noted in Ephesians 5:4, our lives are instead, to be devoted to the “giving of thanks” every day of our lives. Later in Ephesians chapter 5, Paul notes the scope and frequency of our thanksgiving when he says in verse 20, “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Might it be the definition of irony to have the biggest shopping day of the year begin on or immediately after our national day of Thanksgiving? We need to be careful about a lack of contentment and gratitude for what we’ve already been blessed with.

Lack of focus on family and brethren. No longer is it sufficient to wait until the day after Thanksgiving, beginning in 2012, major retailers began opening on Thanksgiving Day itself to lure shoppers to abandon their celebrations of family, and thanksgiving for their blessings, to pursue the material things of this life. One of the cornerstones of our Thanksgiving Day celebrations, after thanking God for our spiritual blessings in Christ, is to give thanks for our family, friends, and loved ones. And yet, the temptation has become to neglect our families for the sake of the material things of life. This temptation to put material things before God and people comes not only on Thanksgiving and Black Friday but every other day as well. To value money and the things it buys over time spent with our families and brethren. We need to honor our fathers and mothers (Ephesians 6:2), rejoice with our children (Psalms 127:5; Proverbs 23:25), and express our thanks and blessings to our brethren in Christ (Colossians 1:3; II Thessalonians 1:3). We need to nourish and cherish (Ephesians 5:28-29) our relationships in the family and in the church and this requires time and focused attention on each other and not on the things of this life.

Lack of civility, kindness, and courtesy. In recent years, Black Friday “deals” have brought out the worst in mankind. The rush to beat others to a limited quantity of discounted merchandise has resulted in both deaths and injuries to others shoppers. This is contrary to the scriptures which call for all men to be “kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). Paul stated simply in Philippians 2:3-4 to “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” When we shop, work, worship, or anything else, Paul’s exhortation must govern everything we do. The point is not that shopping or going to a sale to save money is wrong. The point is that being greedy, discontent, unthankful, unloving, and unkind are sinful and we need to be very sober and watchful to ensure we do not fall prey to these temptations on Black Friday or any other day in our lives.