Today I did something new.
For the first time in my life, I went to the store on "Black Friday" - the day after Thanksgiving, and the unofficial first day of the Christmas shopping season.
I must say that at the location I visited (which shall remain a mystery), it was not as bad as I thought it might be.
I visited the store on Wednesday night, prepared to buy my stuff and be done with it. After talking through my potential purchase with the clerk, though, I realized that I could probably save around $75 by waiting 36 hours and showing up today. After a short period of consideration, I decided that $75 was worth some trouble, and I promised the clerk I would be back at opening time on Friday (in return, he held my items back with my name on them).
The store was scheduled to open at 6:00am. I was in bed by 10:30pm, with my alarm set for 5:00am. I have to say that I could have slept better...the excitement / stress of what I was about to experience was too much. In the few moments of sleep that I did get, I dreamt about what would happen when I arrived at the store - so lame.
So anyways, the alarm goes off at 5:00am, I quickly brush the teeth, throw on some game pants and a hat and I'm out the door. I go by Wal-Mart on the way to my store, and I've never seen so many cars crammed in the parking lot - needless to say, at this point, I'm tickled that I'm not visiting Wally.
I arrived at the store at 5:15am and found about a dozen other folks waiting outside the doors. It was very friendly! We were all talking about which items we were there for, how much they were asking at other stores, what else our kids had asked for for Christmas, etc. Everyone was cheerful and nice. The manager came out of the store several times to see what the different folks were waiting for, and had everything lined up. Here's how nice it was: one of the ladies took Starbucks orders and went to satisfy everyone's caffeine fix in exchange for the rest of us holding her place in line.
The doors finally opened, we got in and then it got a little hairy as two clerks attempted to satisfy all of our buying - it took what seemed like forever. But, once again, everyone was friendly and kind and we all got the items we came for and left without any hurt feelings or bruises.
In the course of talking to the other folks at the store, though, I did hear of a couple nightmarish incidents on this Black Friday:
1. According to the report I heard, there were so many people that the outlet centers in San Marcos that people were parking across the expressway because there was nothing available, then trying to run their items back across to their cars. Bad idea all the way around - playing chicken on I-35 and walking a half mile in the dark with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise...ugh.
2. One person at Wal-Mart was knocked down and had his gaming system swiped by three burly dudes with a video game addiction...not nice.
3. An older lady at Wal-Mart had the item of her choice. A younger lady came up and asked to look at what she had. She handed it over, and the younger lady took off running with the item...flat out mean!
Black Friday at its best and worst, I guess.
After my experiences this morning, pleasant as it was (for me), I don't plan on taking part in this cultural phenomenon again.
I suppose one could consider the state of society at a moment like this - our need to consume and consume at the expense of everyone and everything else. I'm not going to go there. I've lamented that and allowed Christmas to be diminished for me for a long time.
I'm getting to the place where I really think that Christmas (in America) is more of a cultural phenomenon than a spiritual celebration. I'm over the fight for saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays." I'm going to say "Merry Christmas" and "God bless you" and if that bothers someone I guess I'll deal with that when it happens. I'm not going to yell at anyone because they don't.
I'm going to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and commemorate the wonderful truth that He came down from heaven to give His life as a ransom for many and to take away the sins of the world. I'm going to teach my children about that, and encourage them to remember and celebrate those beautiful realities throughout their lives.
I'm also going to spend way too much money, buy them too many presents and take cute pictures of the surprised, smiling looks on their faces when they open them.
OK - I've officially digressed into rambling. Feel free to post your thoughts, concerns and comments!
Until next time - RevPhil
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
To vote or not to vote...
Maybe you've had an experience like this:
You and a group of friends are ready to go out, and you're trying to decide where to eat. It can be a difficult thing to decide - some people don't eat certain foods or don't like certain types of restaurants, others feel like eating something specific, and some have a list of a few places that they're in favor of.
As that process begins to work itself out, there's almost always at least one person who refuses to take part in the decision-making process. They'll usually say something like, "I don't care where we go, I'm just happy to be with you guys." or "Whatever you decide is fine."
That frustrates me to no end. Why not participate? What's the problem? You're here - you're part of the group - do your part and help us make this decision! You're going to eat when we get where we're going, why not share your thoughts and ideas about where to go? Who knows? Your idea might trigger something in someone else - you might have a suggestion that no one else thinks of that would make our outing amazing! Or your suggestion might be lame and we'll move on to something else. But that's not the point.
I don't see the virtue of sitting this one out. It seems a little like a cop out. Don't get me wrong - it doesn't make you a bad person (or a bad Christian) or anything like that, but why not participate in the process? No one's guaranteeing that we're going to do what you suggest, but what harm is there in helping the group decide?
The way I see it is that your input could impact the group for the better - what you say could be exactly what it takes for our night to be wonderful, and that would be good. If you don't give your two cents, we'll probably all be OK and have a good time, but we'll miss out on what might have been a good idea from you.
What benefit is there from you sitting out? Is there a benefit here? I don't see it.
That scenario mirrors my thoughts on the upcoming election tomorrow. The most high-profile thing on the ballot tomorrow is obviously the Presidential election, but there are a lot of other offices up for grabs and issues all over that we, the citizens of this country (and our local communities) have the opportunity to have a voice in.
Why not take advantage of that opportunity and participate in decision making process? How does sitting this one out benefit the community at large?
Is your vote going to be the one that makes the difference one way or the other? Maybe, but probably not. We all know the schtick about the value of a vote, etc. I'm not going there.
The bottom line for me is this: I can't see the value you add to the community / city / country by abstaining from the vote.
Is it wrong to not vote? Probably not. Is it a sin? No. Does it make you a bad person? Negative. A bad Christian? I don't think so. Does it harm the community / city / country? I doubt it.
But...does not voting make you a better person? No. A better Christian? No. Does it make you a better citizen? Uh-uh. Is there any benefit to the community / city / country? No.
As a disciple of Jesus in the community / city / country I live in, I'm called to love and serve others in His name and do what he would do if He were in my place.
For me, I think that means participating in the community / city / country and prayerfully taking the opportunity the God-given government gives me to voice my viewpoints and cast my vote. Is that the end of my responsibilities? No way! But I think it's part of it.
So I encourage you to make your way to the polls tomorrow - pray for guidance and cast your vote in accordance with what you believe is right.
My two cents...until next time - RevPhil
You and a group of friends are ready to go out, and you're trying to decide where to eat. It can be a difficult thing to decide - some people don't eat certain foods or don't like certain types of restaurants, others feel like eating something specific, and some have a list of a few places that they're in favor of.
As that process begins to work itself out, there's almost always at least one person who refuses to take part in the decision-making process. They'll usually say something like, "I don't care where we go, I'm just happy to be with you guys." or "Whatever you decide is fine."
That frustrates me to no end. Why not participate? What's the problem? You're here - you're part of the group - do your part and help us make this decision! You're going to eat when we get where we're going, why not share your thoughts and ideas about where to go? Who knows? Your idea might trigger something in someone else - you might have a suggestion that no one else thinks of that would make our outing amazing! Or your suggestion might be lame and we'll move on to something else. But that's not the point.
I don't see the virtue of sitting this one out. It seems a little like a cop out. Don't get me wrong - it doesn't make you a bad person (or a bad Christian) or anything like that, but why not participate in the process? No one's guaranteeing that we're going to do what you suggest, but what harm is there in helping the group decide?
The way I see it is that your input could impact the group for the better - what you say could be exactly what it takes for our night to be wonderful, and that would be good. If you don't give your two cents, we'll probably all be OK and have a good time, but we'll miss out on what might have been a good idea from you.
What benefit is there from you sitting out? Is there a benefit here? I don't see it.
That scenario mirrors my thoughts on the upcoming election tomorrow. The most high-profile thing on the ballot tomorrow is obviously the Presidential election, but there are a lot of other offices up for grabs and issues all over that we, the citizens of this country (and our local communities) have the opportunity to have a voice in.
Why not take advantage of that opportunity and participate in decision making process? How does sitting this one out benefit the community at large?
Is your vote going to be the one that makes the difference one way or the other? Maybe, but probably not. We all know the schtick about the value of a vote, etc. I'm not going there.
The bottom line for me is this: I can't see the value you add to the community / city / country by abstaining from the vote.
Is it wrong to not vote? Probably not. Is it a sin? No. Does it make you a bad person? Negative. A bad Christian? I don't think so. Does it harm the community / city / country? I doubt it.
But...does not voting make you a better person? No. A better Christian? No. Does it make you a better citizen? Uh-uh. Is there any benefit to the community / city / country? No.
As a disciple of Jesus in the community / city / country I live in, I'm called to love and serve others in His name and do what he would do if He were in my place.
For me, I think that means participating in the community / city / country and prayerfully taking the opportunity the God-given government gives me to voice my viewpoints and cast my vote. Is that the end of my responsibilities? No way! But I think it's part of it.
So I encourage you to make your way to the polls tomorrow - pray for guidance and cast your vote in accordance with what you believe is right.
My two cents...until next time - RevPhil
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