Well, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are past!  Ever wonder why it is called that?  Some say that it ensures that retailers will be “in the black” for the year.  In other words, they will make a profit.

But it seems “black” to me for another reason.  There is this creep that seems to be happening.  As our nation continues its habit of ignoring God, we seem to be falling more and more into the love of stuff.  To possessions.  Grasping at things to fill that God-shaped void in our lives.  Businesses used to be closed on Thanksgiving.  They would return for business on Friday morning.  Then it was midnight on Friday morning.  Now, some are open on Thanksgiving, or, they open after the dinner hour on Thanksgiving; slowly creeping into the day when we are supposed to be thanking and not grabbing!

It was noted in a popular tweet that only in America would we spend a day being thankful, only to trample each other the next day for more stuff.  We don’t look very thankful, or content, do we!

Do you see the method of Satan here?  Of course, he would be opposed to a day when the nation would thank God for its many blessings, but he is even opposed to a day where people who don’t follow God might even be thankful.  So, his blackness tries to cover Thanksgiving over.

Thankfully (pun intended!), no matter what the culture is up to or how it is being influenced, I do not have to be subject to it.  The call to every Christian is to a much greater gain that the simple “stuff” of this life.  It is godliness and contentment.  Paul called these two things mega-gain in First Timothy 6.  There is a thankfulness that will invade your life when these who things are what you are gaining.

My friends, keep your focus this season on the things that really matter, godliness and contentment!