I have to admit, I like looking through all those ads in the Thanksgiving Day newspaper as much as anyone. (Although I hated delivering that thing as a paperboy! Extra work and weight and no additional pay.) After all, who wouldn’t get excited about standing in line at Kohl’s at 2 a.m. so you can save 80% on all Unionbay juniors’ cardigans? But fiscal savings aside, why do we go crazy with our holiday shopping? Do we really need more stuff that badly? I love a good bargain, but it’s not worth giving up (mentally speaking) one of our most cherished holidays for it.

Yesterday at church, Pr. Gary railed on Black Friday and what it’s done to our attitude toward Thanksgiving, and I’d definitely have to agree with his analysis. He really got into it and probably surprised some people when he told us to “rage against the machine” and tell the spirit of consumption “Up yours!” by not participating in Black Friday shopping. It’s ironic that, if we’re not careful, Thanksgiving can turn into a day of planning how to get more rather than a day of reflecting upon the incomprehensible amount of wealth, opportunity, freedom, and other gifts we’ve received.

I am just as vulnerable as anyone else in this country to materialism and some of the lessons of gratitude I learned while living in South American can seem like distant memories. I want to live full of thanksgiving and have a proper perspective on what I’ve been given. I struggle with this and it often seems like I’m destined to go through life always wanting more. It appears that contentment will be a lifelong battle and pursuit. For now, I’ll start with Thanksgiving. I’ll thank God for all his provision and for placing me in this location at this time in history. And to help the process, I’ll tell the media and those in the highest places of power to shut it when they start blathering on about how bad things are. If we would all give thanks, I have a feeling everyone would be better off, and not just on Black Friday.