Why I Went Shopping on Black Friday

Black Friday has come to symbolize the epitomy of American Consumerism. Crazed shoppers head out at 5 or 6 am the morning after eating too much to buy things they don’t need and end up standing in long lines and getting into knock down brawls to get gifts – stealing from one another’s carts and everything.  Yes, it sounds like the epitomy of evil to me.  Therefore, it’s not unusual to hear Christian Social Action groups advocating that Christians refrain from shopping on Black Friday.
So why did I venture out?  Frankly, my pocket book compelled me.  We have been in need of a bigger hard drive for my work computer for quite some time as doing video editing quickly consumes disk space.  I had been using my own personal drive for a while but didn’t want to continue to do that.  So, Staples had a external hard drive advertised for $99 that was 400 GB.  In case you don’t know, this is an incredible deal – normally, these cost in the range of $200-$250.  If I was able to get something that the church has a need for and save the church money, I do not understand why I fell into some “consumeristic trap”.

If you’re wondering – did I buy other things?  Of course.  My dad needed a new printer (his died) but we saved about $80 there.  The internal hard drive on Renee and I’s desktop had been threatening to die for about three months, so I bought a replacement for when it does (saved another $80 there).  Finally, we bought a new desk chair for our desk (which we had needed) and saved maybe 10 or 20 there.

As far as I can see if I am buying things that are (1) Needed (2) At a good price I do not see why I am being anything other than a good steward.

And, for the record, Staples was very peaceful and orderly.  No pushing, no fights, no stealing.  There was a line for certain items but all in all, it was a fine shopping experience.