of the year. People wake up early to wait in long, cold lines for special sales that business make to bring buyers to their doors.
Though it may be a good day to get discounts on particular items, retailers know that people will spend more because of those discounts. For some reason we get in the mindset that says, “since I saved money on this item, I can go buy other items.”
Now don’t get me wrong, a good deal is a great thing to find, but I think people take consumerism too far. Buy, buy, buy. Charge, charge, charge.
I want to challenge you to avoid using a credit card this holiday season. Don’t go in debt to buy that high-priced item. Try and buy items outright, with cash, for your family. Granted, you may have smaller gifts for Christmas, but gift-giving is not really what Christmas is about.
Do this and you will not only be better off over the next year, but you will also be a good steward of your money.
Black Friday is Consumerism Heaven
27 November, 2009
10 Things I’m Thankful for in 2009
26 November, 20091. A beautiful, healthy family
2. My new guitar (Fender Telecaster)
3. New friendships
4. The house we live in
5. Crossroads Christian Church
6. Lots of coffee
7. Expanding collection of vinyl
8. AVOIDING A ZOMBIE INVASION
9. My car is still running well
10. Having a job that I love
Atheist Billboard
25 November, 2009Just this morning I found out that Atheists are raising money to put up billboards. This bothers me for the obvious reason of being a Christ-follower, but I am somewhat perplexed as how/why this is happening.
Atheism is an idea that God does not exist. By the vary nature of this idea, they are also opposed to religion (which is completely tied into a deity).
This act, however, shows me that some groups of atheists are acting as a religion in and of themselves. They are trying to convert people to their belief system, they are raising support for the awareness of their group, and you can even get a tax credit for donating to their cause.
What a crazy idea! Let’s have a religion that carries no hope. A religion that leaves us with the idea that all things are meaningless and are just some random chain of events. A religion that claims we exist because of some cosmological event that who knows where it came from, but since God doesn’t exist we can never answer that question.
Who would want to be a part of something like that? Maybe people who are angry with the Church. Or maybe it’s because people are searching, and this group is willing to make an effort to reach those people. I wish Christians around the world would do the same.
What Season Is It?
19 November, 2009Today I went into PetSmart to get some stuff for the fish tank in my office and saw they had already put up their holiday season decorations. (apparently they don’t care about Thanksgiving)
Normally I would say Christmas decorations, but there was more than just Christmas. The sign said “Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Ramadan.
Interesting.
Just three years ago I remember people going crazy about religious decorations. Businesses were avoiding offending people and simply went with ‘holiday’ decorations. Now, businesses and schools are attempting to embrace it all.
Maybe this is evidence that people are searching for truth, but are not sure where to find it.
The crazy thing about it all, is that Christmas isn’t even much of a religious holiday anymore. Sure, it is for Christians, but I know many non-Christians who celebrate this cultural holiday. Santa Claus, Christmas Tree, Eggnog… it’s an American holiday. What’s wrong with celebrating that?
church or Church
19 November, 2009In many ways I am annoyed at the way the word church has been used in recent history. Many people use the word to label a building or even a particular congregation, but I think that is a huge understatement of what the word actually means.
The Church (notice the capital ‘C’) is not a building, and it’s not limited to a single congregation. Jesus calls himself the bridegroom in Matthew 9:15, and his bride is the Church. The entire body of believers is considered to be the Church. This means people worshiping God in Rwanda, Idaho, and Thailand are all part of the same Church. This also means that Lutherans, Methodists, and Baptists are also part of the same Church.
I know I can’t change the way we use this word as a culture, much like I cannot change the way people use the word worship to signify singing (worship is so much more than that). But I can try and change the way I use the word.
Instead of calling the building where the Church meets the church, I try to call it the church building or by the name of that congregation, like Crossroads. I have also been trying to avoid telling people, “I am going to church.” Instead I say worship service, or something along those lines.
I’m not trying to be ubber-pious or ‘holier than thou’ by doing these things, but I really think we need to be careful how we use certain words, especially when it is in relationship to the Creator. Too often we can dumb down a word so much that it has little to no significance.
