Black Friday bust

           There was a time when shopping was easy. On Sunday all the stores were closed and people were at home with family. Shopping was done during the work week. I know “Work week” is a novel idea. I think people could save more money because the window to spend was shorter. They say we are more in debt today than ever before. Well that is because shopping has become difficult to navigate.

The days of rest are gone for many people. Split shifts rule the day. The worker goes and the owner makes money. People can buy things now 24/7. The worker comes home and shops online. They might even venture out on their rest days. Is there rest for the modern worker? Is that ability to make money as an owner been compromised? I say yes on both accounts.

They told us years ago that having a guaranteed Sunday off was restrictive. They said it limited our choices and kept prices high. The local shops were surviving without Sunday. Then came in 7 days a week shopping. The local stores started to close all over the place. The likes of Walmart began to rise. Initially the prices came down because the big stores could sell by volume. The days of the local store are marginally gone. I am beginning to believe that the days of the big volume store is going too.

What does God have to say about shopping. Now that is an interesting question. Hebrews 4:10 says “For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.” God rested so that, by example, we should rest. In Mark 2:27 Jesus remarks “Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” We were not commanded to rest in the way we are commanded by bosses or parents. If rest is a command at all, it’s an order to rest because rest is good for the soul.

God also has an opinion on work. Proverbs 11:1 says “The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.” In Leviticus 25:4 God is suggesting that resting the land is good for the land “But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. I think the point is that if we rest: we become better workers. If the land (business) rests, then it becomes a better land or business.

I think that philosophy by God is playing itself out on Black Friday this year. In the past, we had a few special times of the year to shop for deals. There was the Christmas season and boxing day. People saved and spent during those periods. With the introduction of Black Friday, the tables have been turned. People have got the idea that shopping can be done outside of December. What the store owners did not anticipate is that it gave us the idea that shopping could be done anytime. They tried to keep us in their Black Friday and Christmas box. The internet has killed the mega and local store. Sure we still buy from them online, but anyone is far game online.

I used to have to travel to a store or abide by their hours. Now with internet shopping, buying is anytime from my chair at home. There is no need to own a store and hire workers. Just deliver products online from home or a warehouse. The tables have been turned because they took away our rest on Sunday. I bought a product from Beijing the other day. That is not local or a mega store. My purchasing power has no loyalty anymore.

I say that the greed of the business owner did this. I did venture out on Black Friday to see what I could see. I saw nothing. One store had a discount of 50% on a TV. Yet, on the net, I saw that the TV was always that price all over the world. The Black Friday cash grab is a sham. One store offered the same TV four hundred dollars more than the retail price, but said it was on sale.

I think the consumer has always been king. The stores are desperate now to make money. Customer service is at an all-time low. Business wanted more shopping days. Business wanted us to work more to make them money. Business wanted to cut hours to part-time to save money. Business tried to expand business but in the end caused the consumer to spread out. Profit is thin so they ask for a bigger price. Rest was a good idea and the Black bust is proof that the rested consumer/worker still rules, and that is not easy for business to take.

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