The celebration of Thanksgiving Day is immediately followed by yet another holiday. Although not an official occasion, Black Friday has become one of the major events celebrated by people since the early 2000s. To many, this marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping rush. As if to further indicate the relevance of the occasion, some schools and offices even give their employees and students the days off for both Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
In response to the booming demand brought about by this unofficial holiday, hundreds of retailers open their stores by midnight while some cater to customers starting from the wee hours of the morning. The magnitude of the demand for items on a Black Friday could only be rivaled by the influx of buyers come Cyber Monday.
In contrast to Black Friday, the sellers use a different strategy to lure customers to participate on Cyber Monday. Consumers take part of this day by purchasing items online instead of lining up in malls and other major retail outlets. With all these deals and promos enticing the buyers, it could be easy to get lost in the throngs of new products shipped in for our consumption.
To keep us grounded on what is truly relevant in life, here are scriptures from the Bible materialism and greed:
1. He told the people, "Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions." (Luke 12:15)
2. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19-20)
3. Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless like chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 6:9)
4. Everyone comes naked from their mother's womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. (Ecclesiastes 5:15)
5. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:26)
6. Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. (1 Timothy 6:17-18)
7. Why do you spend money on what cannot nourish you and your wages on what does not satisfy you? Listen carefully to me: Eat what is good, and enjoy the best foods. (Isaiah 55:2)
8. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)
9. Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth-except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! ( Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)
10. For everything that is in the world-the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance-is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God's will remains forever. (1 John 2:16-17)
