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

[Amy Ragain]

thanks!
this 1 was actually very good!
I liked what it had to say...
smile

On Nov 29, 2011, at 4:08 PM, Eric Calhoun wrote:

> 
> 
> 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
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>                  © 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.
> 
>                  Contact Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>            Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc. · PO Box 400 · Harrison,
> Arkansas 72601   
> 
> 
> 
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