As everybody knows, this week is Thanksgiving. It is a day where we give thanks for what is most important in our lives. This could be our friends, our pets, or most importantly our family. Is this holiday getting what it deserves though? The attention Americans once gave to Thanksgiving has seemed to be forgotten because "Thanksgiving isn't Christmas." -- that mentality needs to change.
Thanksgiving marks the one holiday of the year that we can be thankful for everything we have. This tradition should continue throughout the entire year, but people often only take the one holiday. Now, instead of being thankful on the one day a year where it's actually promoted, there are those obsessive Black Friday shoppers. Each year Black Friday becomes more and more hectic, which leads to customers lining up around the corner as store doors open early on Thursday night. Clearly, this takes away quality family time and breaks families apart. Why lose sight of our family or what we are thankful for?
1 Thessalonians 5:8 states, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
Thanksgiving isn't just a holiday for you, it is to help praise God. This holiday is to understand that God paid the ultimate price for us, and it is part of being a Christian in praising the King of all Kings.
Everyone's hype about Black Friday can tear families apart. While half of the family is celebrating the holiday and enjoying their time together, the other half is places shopping as a higher priority
It is terrifying to know that on day, Thanksgiving, is filled with gratitude and loving one another, while the next day after is about materialism and getting the best price. Now yes, who doesn't like a good deal? However, there is a difference between ditching your family for that greed and waiting until the day of Black Friday itself to actually arrive in line.
Besides, some of these Black Friday horror stories give you a reason to stay inside. For example, at Walmart in New York in 2008 a worker at that store was trampled to death. Apparently, the crowd had become so rambunctious that customers waiting in line broke through the glass and burst inside. In this instance, the worker was not the only one who was injured.
This is merely one example of awful human greed and how it can make people crazy -- even crazier than the holidays.
Black Friday is why I urge you to spend the time with your family. Don't go shopping on Thursday, it can wait until on Friday. Eat some turkey instead of running around a store fighting with people over something materialistic. This year, take the Thanksgiving holiday to do what is intended: give thanks. It is impeccable, that we spend Thanksgiving with our families and surround them with our love.
So this holiday, truly ponder what Thanksgiving is really supposed to mean -- that it is giving thanks to God, spending time with our families, and being a part of a culture that appreciates the good grace of family.
