Shopping this Holiday Season.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-17
10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.

13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.

16 And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. 17 Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.

It is now the day after Thanksgiving and everyone is still stuffed from yesterday. Being the day after, it is Black Friday and some people gave up part of their Thanksgiving so they could be first in line at area stores to get the latest super cool gadget.

I want to give you a little bit of background information about Black Friday because it fits with what I'm going to talk about today.

The big shopping day right after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This is where it gets its name "Black Friday." When sales are down, retailers are said to be "in the red." When sales are up, they are said to be "in the black." The only reason sales are typically up on this day is because of irresistible deals that consumers can not avoid. It is on this day that retailers can make a complete turn around in sales.

So as you go out and about this holiday season keep a few things in mind. Don't go to the stores and spend wads of money just because you're intrigued by their ads. You can buy gifts, but you don't have to spend lots of money for every single person you know. It is too often that people say "I can only show that I love them by getting the biggest and nicest thing out there." That's going too far. Think of a way to spend less this holiday and still show others that you love and care for them. This will keep you stress free and will allow you to enjoy the holiday season that much more. Traditionally, this time of year is filled with stress before Christmas as decisions are made on what to get someone and after the holiday while credit cards are being paid off. I'll tell you what...if you think of Jesus this season, you surely won't be sweating bullets.