Mall Madness
Today it begins for Donna and me - Mall-madness…because we are only half-crazy. I mean crazy would have been trying to go on Friday after Thanksgiving. But yes today we will venture to the mall with gift lists in hand. Perhaps that’s why the Lord pre-arranged that my devotion this morning would be from Isaiah 55:1-3…Why do you spend money for what is not bread? And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me (OK GOD I’M TRYING) and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to me…
Wow, that helps…it really does. I honestly think this time of the year all of us enter a short phase of madness…I know I do. I mean we don’t want to be Scrooge (though my wife accuses me of such occasionally), and it really is fun to buy some things for the fam…especially those grandkids…but I think I need to procede with caution. How much do we all really need anyway?
And can I move through the gift, party and busy season and keep my focus on our Lord’s birth, or will madness totally overtake me? Man I hope not. I know Isaiah’s words are ultimately true…none of these things really satisfy the soul. Most of it will be old to me, too small for me, or broken by mid January anyway.
And speaking of madness, did you catch the MSNBC report on debt among the GenX gang! They said, the average GenX girl has NO savings at all and between $3000 and $5000 of credit card debt. Of course the average American family carries over $9000 in Credit Card debt. Talk about Mall Madness…there you have it.
So OK enough sermonizing…I just want the Lord to help me think this through. We can be generous, enjoy giving gifts and all the rest without going “mad” and losing focus on the real deal. And Dear Lord, while I am at the mall coveting a whole bunch of stuff I don’t really need, please remind me there was a cyclone in Bangladesh.
And Oh Yeah, I verify my blog of a few weeks ago…the Broncos, Jets and Giants stunk it up this weekend!
