The Ethics of Black Friday

I got caught up in an interesting discussion at my dance class last week regarding Black Friday. Just the name alone gives me pause. Black Friday: such a meaningful, true-meaning-of-Christmas-type day. NOT!  As the girls at dance discussed the day, we quickly realized we were divided into two camps. Those who dove into Black Friday with gusto and those who avoided it at all costs. 

The women who shopped on Black Friday were an interesting group.  They all were up early and at the stores the minute they opened, even if that was some ungodly hour like 3 or 4 a.m.  Apparently it was just so very important that they got those all important deals that were there at the stores in the middle of the night.  Most of these women had a game plan too. They shopped in groups, like a pack of lions hunting a wildebeast.  One would get in line, one would go one direction, one would head in another direction and all were coordinated like the Secret Service by a sophisticated system of either cell phones or walkie talkies.  There was even a discussion of ethics in this Black Friday talk. All agreed that stampeding and killing someone, as per the WalMart incident last year was over the top.  Whew, that made me feel a little better.  However, fighting someone for an item was ok. One girl told a story about fighting 4 people for the last 3 $20 shopvacs.  She was so please with herself. I was like, "A Shopvac!?" I have never gotten that excited over a shopvac in my life! Now maybe if it was a pair of Manolo's for $20, but a SHOPVAC!? Whatever.  Then they also decided that if someone had the last remaining item in their shopping cart and they walked away from their cart to look at something, that item was fair game.  Apparently in the ethics of Black Friday, possession is 9/10's of the law.  If you let go of your cart, it is no longer yours. I wondered if this also applied to the person's purse?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for getting a good deal. I love a great bargain and I think we should use our money wisely.  Nathan jokes frequently with me about the store "Savers" calling it "Spenders" because I go there so often. However, I truely wonder about the motivation behind Black Friday.  Why are we giving gifts at Christmas?  Personally, I give gifts at Christmas because I love the people I am giving them to and so when I select gifts I do so mindfully.  I like to take my time, find the best deal of course, but truely thing about the person I am buying for.  What would THEY like, what would mean the most to them, how can I bless them with this gift?  I find that a little hard to do in the midst of the frenzy of grabbing and screaming and trampling others feelings and needs that is Black Friday.

Philippians 2:3-7 says this: "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.  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied iImself, taking the form of a bond-servant. . ."

I find this attitude very hard to have on Black Friday. If you can do it, great, go for it. But, the whole concept of Black Friday is the antithesis of self-LESSness.  It's all about me and what I can get for me.  It has very little to do with others.

This Christmas season may I suggest we slow down a little? Maybe you may have to spend $5 more on a present.  Who cares?  Consider others more highly than yourself. Think about the person you are choosing your presents for.  Don't think of buying gifts as something to just "get through", but a wonderful opportunity to bless them and show your love.  And consider thinking of your shopping trips as opportunities to bring the love of Christ and the true Christmas message to a frazzled and messed up world.

Merry Christmas!