Is it my imagination or is the Black Friday shopping craze becoming a bigger and bigger deal? My wife thought she was going to take advantage of the Midnight madness opening at one of the big-box stores in our local mall. When she showed up the mall parking lot was full and the line to enter the store was 1000 people long. Needless to say she didn’t shop last night. She has assured me she intends to shop later today and make our family contribution to the $45 billion dollars* which will be spent in the U.S. today.
The media wants us to believe the economy is struggling, and yet the most obvious signs seem to suggest otherwise. As a former newspaper delivery truck driver back in my college days, I am well acquainted with massive Thanksgiving Day newspapers, packed with all of the Black Friday ads. In this year’s edition some of the store ads looked more like magazines, printed on full-color slick paper versus the old-school newsprint of the past. When you add the extensive coverage Black Friday receives on TV, and all of the exposure via the Internet, it leads me to a question: How much of the Black Friday shopping craze is being fueled by advertising?
At least for our region of the USA, I am skeptical the economy is struggling as much as media types and politicians would like for us to believe. The cynic in me thinks the unaware become pawns played by those who seek to manipulate the emotions and decisions of the masses for their advantage. Sometimes the advantage is economic gain for retailers or votes for politicians.
“Frenzy” is a good word to describe what it’s like in stores today, as people are feverishly snatching product from the shelves and parting with their hard-earned money. I don’t have a problem with spending money and I definitely like to save $. Personally, I prefer the whole cyber-shopping scene. But if I am going to spend money, I want it to be by my choice. I want my Christmas shopping to be influenced by genuine love for the people in my life, and not influenced by slick advertising or emotion-driven purchases.
A good word for today, and the entire Christmas shopping season is: SELF-CONTROL. We need to be wise in what we buy and live within our means. If my mailbox is any indication, credit card companies are back on the prowl again for new customers after several years of struggle, so the temptation to use plastic to purchase gifts will be on the increase. I like what Peter writes in 5:8ff: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the shopping devil prowls around the aisles of stores like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist the shopping devil, standing firm in the faith.” (this would be the MBR version).
*http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/16007967/predictions-for-black-friday-2011
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