The top news stories the past few days have been all about what are arguably the two most important days of the year to our country's retailers: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Given the preliminary data, retailers must be feeling pretty good. According to the National Retail Foundation, a record 226 million shoppers were out and about. And these shoppers spent an estimated $400 each on their purchases. Wow! That's a lot of people spending a lot of money!
As for Cyber Monday, there are no figures out yet to say just how many were shopping online yesterday .. but sales did top one billion dollars for the first time! Again ... a lot of people buying a lot of stuff (I saw an interesting segment on NBC evening news last evening in which the NBC reporter shadowed an "aisle runner" in a million sq. foot Amazon warehouse in Phoenix. This guy's job was to fill orders ... so he had to know where to go to get the items for the order. On a busy day, this guy can walk up to 15 miles!).
I am so glad that I can say that the only store I stepped into over the weekend was a grocery store. For one, I don't like huge crowds. In addition, I would just as soon not get caught up in the consumerism that drives these events. If others want to do so ... that's OK with me. Just don't ask me to go along (in fact, I think I have only been shopping on a Black Friday once in the recent past). I also did not order anything online yesterday. If you did (and got a deal) - hurray for you! But as for me and my house ... we were busy with other things!
In light of all of this hubbub (of a number of people buying stuff they do not need to impress people they do not like with money they do not have) - I want to offer up a word of caution (keep in mind, please, that I am NOT against buying and exchanging Christmas gifts ... and many who did go out did so to catch some bargains to help their own budgets to go a longer way - certainly not a bad thing at all.). Please do not lose sight of the real reason for Christmas. It is Christ's birth that we celebrate. So let's do all we can to keep HIM central. Don't get caught up with the consumerism that so marks our culture. And as you shop ... please remember the poor among us - whether they be near or far. Giving a gift to Water Street Ministries here in Lancaster or Children's Fellowship of India would certainly be Christmas gifts that would please our God!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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