This year, Black Friday seemed to even bigger than ever. There were adverts, weeks in advance, the shops were all getting ready with extra security staff being brought in, and it was trending on Twitter for at least a couple of weeks before. And then Black Friday came, the day when retailers slash their prices and expect to make more money than even the boxing day sales! 

 

Of course, the news followed the day with avid interest, picking up on all the scuffles and fights that inevitably occurred. It was wryly funny, watching the videos of people rushing into supermarkets, like confused children in a sweetshop, grabbing the first largest electrical item they could find, and then cradling it like a newborn over to the counter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was funny, but it was also a sad reflection on our culture as well. I mean, yes we all like a good bargain, but as I was watching the videos, I was thinking, “Do people actually need that item or are they just buying it because it’s Black Friday?

 

The Queen lyrics here pretty much sum it up. “I want it all and I want it now.” With the ‘it’ being whatever ‘big thing’ is being advertised at the moment. Now I don’t want this to get all preachy about consumerism and materialism, thats not the point I’m making here, what I’m trying to say is is the characteristic of the world is it wants everything now. Whether that is products, promotion, success, happiness whatever, the world wants it now, and as soon as it has got it, it moves onto wanting something else.

 

It’s like the younger son here, he wanted everything now. He took all he could and ran with it, and enjoyed himself for maybe a month or two. Now I have no doubt he did enjoy himself, he probably had a great time. But it did come to an end. Its the same today, you can have everything and you can have it now, but it won’t last. Even if you are ridiculously rich, and there is no question of money running out, there is one thing that will always run out: time. It will all end one day! 

 

As Christian’s we should be looking, not for now, but for a time to come. The Lord said to lay up treasure in Heaven, we are not to build our fortune down here. Of course, there have been some very rich Christians, and God has used them in very remarkable and awesome ways, but characteristically a Christian should be looking to build up for the future. The foolish man built his house on the sand, a quick fix. Without having to dig down to the foundations, it would have taken no time to assemble his house (as long as the parts didn’t come form IKEA). He would have been able to sit back and relax and watch the other man toil and sweat as he dug down into the rock bed. But when the storm came, well we know what happened! The point is the foolish man wanted it now, the other looked and built for a future. 

 

But Christianity is not all about the future. We can enjoy things now. In fact when we worship God, (through the Spirit) we get a little sense of what it will be like to be eternity! We get a little glimpse of glory. You can find everything you need in God! God wants to give you so many blessings, and we can enjoy many of them now, but the difference being they will continue on into eternity! 

 

So what are you looking for? Everything and everything now? Or are you building for eternity? Are you playing the short con, or the long game?