[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] Ron Hutchcraft - Black Friday Battles

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "thefamilyoffaith" <TheFamilyofFaith at tampabay.rr.com>
To: <thefamilyoffaith at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] Ron Hutchcraft - Black Friday Battles
Date: 
Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:02:20 -0500

Ron Hutchcraft Ministries Blog

           
              One crowd was fighting for bargains. Another crowd was
fighting for freedom.    
           
     
     
                  Black Friday Battles   


             I was in one of those "big box" stores over the weekend -
and Santa was strolling the aisles wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I
told my wife, "It was fun to see Santa. I was just a little surprised to
see him carrying pepper spray on his belt."
            OK - I made that part up. But the thought never would have
occurred to me, except for the crazy Black Friday headlines. People getting
pushed, punched, sprayed, hospitalized, even shot - all in the frenzy to
get some coveted item cheap.
            There was this image on a news organization's website that
was almost laughable - if it weren't more sad than funny. Pictures
captioned with the day's major headlines kept rotating across my screen.
First came the photo of pre-dawn bargain-hunters massing outside a store -
caption: "Shoppers Show Up in Droves." Next picture - hundreds of thousands
of Egyptians massing in the place where, months ago, their demonstrations
brought down a dictator. Caption: "Crowd Swells in Cairo's Tahrir Square."
            I smiled - then quickly sobered - at the contrast. One crowd
fighting for bargains. Another crowd fighting for freedom.
            I was ready to put those pictures side-by-side with a caption
of my own: "So what are you fighting for?"
            I'm not against bargains. I like them. But the contrasting
agendas of those Black Friday crowds was a reminder to make sure I'm
investing myself in the battles that really matter. Even though there are
less important battles that constantly jockey for our attention and our
time.
            We find our lives filled with the pursuit of more house, more
money, more Facebook friends, more fun, more title, more commitments, more
sports, more gadgets, more entertainment. We dance to the music of a
culture that tells us what we must have, what we must see and do. We pour
our energies into having more than giving...into activity more than
relationships...into maintaining church programs more than moving out to
reach people who are clueless about Jesus.
            Christians choose to define themselves by the 10% that
divides them rather than the 90% that unites them. Couples fight over petty
differences instead of fighting for their marriage. Relationships between
family, friends or business people often focus on the insignificant, rather
than what really matters and is important. Church folks fight over music
styles and personal slights instead of fighting for the lost and the
hurting people just across town.
             Jesus said to stop running after all the "temporaries" that
possess the lives of people who live like this world is all there is. And
to "seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:32-33). In other words, the
things that God thinks are worth living for and fighting for. Like the hard
work of a happy marriage, strong relationships, and building kids with a
Jesus of their own. Like the ever-living, never-dying souls of the people
you know. And the powerless and broken people who break the heart of Jesus.
            I love this high tribute to David, the "man after God's own
heart": "He fights the Lord's battles" (1 Samuel 25:28). Those are the only
ones worth fighting.


            Read More Blogs From Ron Hutchcraft

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                  © Ronald P. Hutchcraft . Distributed by Ron Hutchcraft
Ministries, Inc. 
                 "Black Friday Battles" by Ronald P. Hutchcraft is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative
Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at www.Hutchcraft.com 
                  Please prayerfully consider financially supporting Ron
Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc with a tax-deductible gift.

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