I’m not sure how long it’s been going on. This is the first year I’ve noticed a thing called Spring Black Friday. Really? Do we really need a second Black Friday? It’s time to resist.
With a little research, I discovered that this so-called Spring Black Friday is predominantly something that the big-box home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes promote. They don’t really have a single Friday sale like after Thanksgiving. Rather, it’s an ongoing promotion throughout late March and much of April.
Why You Should Resist Spring Black Friday
- It promotes consumerism: The goal of any promotional sale is to get people to buy more stuff. Sure, we may need a few yard-care items in the spring. But do we need lounge furniture and barbecues and more power tools? That’s the goal of these corporate peddlers: to get you to buy as many big-ticket items as possible, to promote consumerism.
- You don’t need more stuff: Chances are pretty good that you don’t really need more stuff. I don’t own a barbecue and I’m okay with that. Why? Because I know I’d only use it occasionally, maybe even rarely. It would just be another thing to clutter up my yard and my garage. Most Americans have way more than we really need. Yet we tend to buy things more often than needed simply because we want them. Think twice.
- It turns Christianity into selfism: The original Black Friday lands on the day after Thanksgiving. The intention is to get people to buy stuff for Christmas. So in general, we associate the term Black Friday with a major Christian holiday. The connotation is obvious here. Spring Black Friday comes around Easter. This turns the two biggest Christian holidays into events to think about the self. This opposes the Christian message.
Jesus Would Be Cool With Minimalism
I try not to talk too much about religion on my blogs. But I do believe in Jesus. And based on my knowledge of Jesus, I think he’d be cool with minimalism. In fact, I think that anyone who truly wants to follow Jesus would also tend to be a minimalist.
As I get closer to selling my house, I can see a major advantage to living in an apartment or condominium in the future. It would greatly reduce the amount of outdoor stuff that sits in the garage and goes unused half of the year.
I don’t think Jesus or a number of other great spiritual leaders would have kept garages full of stuff. There is more important work to be done, like spreading messages of freedom, hope, salvation, and love. I urge you to resist consumerism and live in a way that allows you to help others as much as yourself.
