Dear Good News Magazine Subscriber,
In the midst of tough times, retailers this year are really hoping and praying—after first trying to seduce us through advertising—that "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" give them an economic shot in the arm. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, is the busiest shopping day in the year, marking the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It is one of the main indicators of whether businesses will turn a profit, that is, be put "in the black"—hence the term, Black Friday.
This makes great fodder for TV news programs. Reporters often interview people lining up and camping out at midnight. They're ready for the 5 a.m. openings, and, typically, the film crew will capture footage of the stampeding hordes when the doors unlock. The ratings always shoot up when you have a few tramplings in the herd of the unlucky slow ones who stumble and get run over—for them it's "Black and Blue Friday."
I understand how starving people can riot. I've seen the desperation of hungry people in third world countries. Maybe that's why seeing crazed shoppers riot and fight over a half-price DVD is just plain embarrassing, because it tells the world something about what we've become. These stores aren't selling food to the starving; they're selling greed to the "haves" who want to have more! It's consumer hunger in the land of plenty!
Astute marketers and advertisers have cleverly tapped into basic human nature, and so effectively that we fall for the idea that we're actually saving money! Don't we know that while they have slashed prices on some items in order to lure us into the store, they know that once we're in there we'll probably buy more things than we intended? Don't we see that the hunger to have more is part of a larger, far more destructive picture? Don't we understand that it is the materialistic mind-set that has led to horrific personal debt, overextending ourselves beyond our means financially, which has played a big part in the current economic crisis we're facing?
But the saddest part of all is that this kicks off the holiday season in which people are supposedly focused on honoring the One who said, "You shall not covet"! This was not God's suggestion, but His commandment! If we were really honoring Jesus, would we get caught up in such greed?
 This is a good time to ask even deeper questions about what it means to honor Jesus Christ. For instance, are you aware that the reason much of the world came to celebrate Christmas is because some astute religious "marketers" promoted the idea centuries ago that incorporating pagan practices into Christianity would be a great substitute for worshipping Jesus Christ in the way the Bible says we should? People fell for these idolatrous customs then, and most blindly follow them now. But what does God think? Does He care one way or the other? Can you know for sure?
This season, why not give yourself the gift of understanding? You can have the clear answers to these important questions, just by taking a few moments to download or read online our booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? You can understand not only the history of Christmas, but why it never has and never will bring "peace on earth, good will toward men." Knowing the truth is the greatest investment you can make in life!
Clyde Kilough
Church president
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