Friday, November 26, 2010

Black Friday & God

I was just perusing through Facebook and saw the following status update: (the store name & dollar amount has been changed to protect the innocent) "...got $135 worth of clothes for my kids at (insert store name here), and only had to pay $23. We are blessed!!"

If you didn't realize this, I own and operate a retail shoe store, and for years I have been bothered by this little thing that is talked so much about in Christianity; how if we get "good" deals, then we are blessed.

I'm excited that the person who saved $112 on clothes got such a good deal, really I am because I also enjoy getting a good deal on stuff, who doesn't. What gets me is that we (talking about Christians here) cheapen God when we focus on the good deals. As a retailer, the fact that the customer got that much merchandise for so little money was not a blessing to the retailer. Sounds like to me the customer got blessed, and the retailer got the shaft.

I've always thought that if God in fact has the cattle on a thousand hill (Psalm 50:10) which He does, and everything is His, which it is, why can't He bless the customers with the full retail price of something? You see, as a merchant if I get the full retail value that's when I'm blessed. So if God was to give the customer the money to purchase what they want at full retail, then wouldn't both the customer and the merchant get blessed?

I know that they say the Friday after Thanksgiving is the best shopping day of the year. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, depends on who you talk to actually. For me, it's another day of helping customers, the funny thing is that I do the same thing the day before Thanksgiving as I do after, and every other day for that matter. I help my customers to the best of my ability each time I'm in the store.

Black Friday has become an event that a lot of people enjoy, and if you are one of them by all means go out and have a great time. Just remember to thank the Creator for your good deals, and not your savvy shopping skills. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!



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