Given Black Friday and all its charades and travesties today, some immediate thoughts came to mind about another Black Friday that makes some interesting parallels to this popular day after Thanksgiving.
And to make an initial disclaimer, I am definitely not trying to write a post with cheesy play on words with a Jesus-spin-off to it; I simply want to highlight some interesting, ironic similarities and shed light on some truth in the process.
In largely ‘Christianized’ America, it’s highly ironic that Black Friday—the most significant shopping day of the year and arguably the most greedy day of the year—transpires just hours after the most thankful day of the year, Thanksgiving. In fact, yesterday I even saw commercials where Black Friday sales happened on Thanksgiving Day! It’s ironic that after a day of heavenly thanks, hellish greed takes its place as soon as the tryptophan wears off.
To be sure, I’m not writing this post to tell people that they need to get their game together and be more heavenly with gratitude and less hellish with greed. Rather, I want to point out how this irony in our culture is a reversal of the gospel sequentially, and it’s actually what the gospel reverses effectually.
In other words, our culture’s picture of Thanksgiving and Black Friday represents a progress from thanks to greed. But in the gospel, we see an analogous picture of Black Friday to Thanksgiving, representing a progress from greed to thanks.
In our culture’s picture of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, we see that gratitude, thanksgiving, and contentedness quickly fade in the glamorous lights, bells, and whistles of incredible sales, new products, and better possessions. Thus, Thanksgiving gives birth to Black Friday.
In the gospel, however, quite the reversal of events happens: Jesus Christ took the place of judgment for humanity’s greed, lust, and pride on the blackest Friday in human history—at the cross on Golgotha—where God’s justice for sin was poured out. Jesus’ life and death paid the price for our sin debt, which compels deep gratitude from those who know they would be forever alienated from God if it weren’t for Christ. Thus, the Black Friday of Christ gives ‘rebirth’ to a lifestyle of Thanksgiving.
Therefore, the gospel of Christ exemplifies a reversal of culture’s events sequentially, and reverses the nature of greed to thanksgiving effectually.
Quite ironically, humanity does get something right: the best gifts are offered on Black Friday. We’ve just forgotten which Black Friday offers the best gift.
And since we are already well acquainted with comparing prices/products before we cash out for the best deal, let’s see exactly how these ‘Black Fridays’ stack up as well:
For example:
The Black Friday of Christ is better than the Black Friday of the world because it declares that the one thing your soul has been longing for has been given as a gift. The Black Friday of the world says that your soul needs constant consumption of gifts. Besides, material things can never satisfy spiritual needs. Illogically, we so often think it can.
The Black Friday of Christ was where the treasury of heaven was emptied for our redemption. The Black Friday of the world is where the treasury of your bank accounts proves to be empty of ultimate satisfaction all along.
The Black Friday of Christ tells you to rest. The Black Friday of the world tells you it’s never enough.
The Black Friday of Christ gives forgiveness and reconciliation with our Father, Creator, and Savior—who owns everything anyways. The Black Friday of the world tells you to buy and buy—showing you that own less and less and that you need more and more.
Why wouldn’t you take the Black Friday of Christ? As a customer of life, you get more when you give Jesus lordship and your worship. And I don’t mean you get ‘more stuff’—I mean you gain the life that God designed you to live after all: one in reconciliation with Him.
To conclude, I’m dead serious: Go Black Friday shopping. There are some killer sales out there, and if you don’t hit those sales today, you might be chucking out more money in the coming weeks before Christmas when the deals aren’t as good (if you’re a procrastinator like me). But while you are shopping, I want you to remember that the real Black Friday was about the greatest gift, which weakens the powerful grip of greed and produces deep thanksgiving in any circumstance.
One more thing before I sign off: while Black Friday sales can compel us to drastic actions—like getting up at 3:00am, sacrificially spending money, and keeping your eyes open for every sale—I want to encourage everyone reading this blog to stand in awe of another Black Friday, and let that compel you to even more drastic actions of forsaking comforts, giving generously, and staying spiritually alert for the mission and glory of Christ.
On this Black Friday, remember that Blacker Friday.
