Good Advice-The Root of Joy by Martin Wiles

Series: Good Advice

My wife and I didn’t have the means to purchase, but we thought we’d watch those who did.

Hours before sales began, hordes of people in our relatively small town stood up from bulging tables of Thanksgiving delights and converged on Wal-Mart’s parking lot. The spaces filled quickly and spilled over into other retailers’ lots. When a bomb threat led to the store’s evacuation, hundreds headed to nearby K-Mart and consumed that lot as well. It was Black Friday, but this year many sales were beginning on Thanksgiving Thursday.
 
Black ________ was typically assigned to days of poor performance at the stock market. Retailers later coined the name Black Friday and made it synonymous with the shopping madness that occurs on the day after Thanksgiving in the United States-the day they step into the black financially.

Though some are out to buy gifts for others and enjoy the experience, Black Friday often exposes selfishness, greed, and misplaced priorities. Much of the grabbing, fighting and cursing is over what I want versus what someone else thinks they need and reveals the continuing dilemma of connecting joy with possessions. Paul didn’t say “Go buy so you’ll be happy” but Always be joyful (I Thessalonians 5:16 NLT).

God wants us to enjoy the good things he provides, but lasting joy isn’t tied to possessions. It’s experienced in relationships-the most important being the one we have with him. Seeking his will daily, thinking of him throughout the day, and being confident of his promises leads to a happiness we can’t experience through ownership. Resting in who we are because of who he is brings a peaceful repose televisions, I Pads, I Phones, video games, computers, and other electronic gadgets can’t muster. Are you searching in the wrong place for lasting joy?

Prayer: Merciful Father and supplier of all our needs, prompt us to find our joy and peace in serving You rather than in things that will be here today but outdated or destroyed tomorrow.

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