I was in one of those "big box" stores over the weekend - and Santa was strolling the aisles wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I told my wife, "It was fun to see Santa. I was just a little surprised to see him carrying pepper spray on his belt."
OK - I made that part up. But the thought never would have occurred to me, except for the crazy Black Friday headlines. People getting pushed, punched, sprayed, hospitalized, even shot - all in the frenzy to get some coveted item cheap.
There was this image on a news organization's website that was almost laughable - if it weren't more sad than funny. Pictures captioned with the day's major headlines kept rotating across my screen. First came the photo of pre-dawn bargain-hunters massing outside a store - caption: "Shoppers Show Up in Droves." Next picture - hundreds of thousands of Egyptians massing in the place where, months ago, their demonstrations brought down a dictator. Caption: "Crowd Swells in Cairo's Tahrir Square."
I smiled - then quickly sobered - at the contrast. One crowd fighting for bargains. Another crowd fighting for freedom.
I was ready to put those pictures side-by-side with a caption of my own: "So what are you fighting for?"
I'm not against bargains. I like them. But the contrasting agendas of those Black Friday crowds was a reminder to make sure I'm investing myself in the battles that really matter. Even though there are less important battles that constantly jockey for our attention and our time.
We find our lives filled with the pursuit of more house, more money, more Facebook friends, more fun, more title, more commitments, more sports, more gadgets, more entertainment. We dance to the music of a culture that tells us what we must have, what we must see and do. We pour our energies into having more than giving...into activity more than relationships...into maintaining church programs more than moving out to reach people who are clueless about Jesus.
Christians choose to define themselves by the 10% that divides them rather than the 90% that unites them. Couples fight over petty differences instead of fighting for their marriage. Relationships between family, friends or business people often focus on the insignificant, rather than what really matters and is important. Church folks fight over music styles and personal slights instead of fighting for the lost and the hurting people just across town.
Jesus said to stop running after all the "temporaries" that possess the lives of people who live like this world is all there is. And to "seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:32-33). In other words, the things that God thinks are worth living for and fighting for. Like the hard work of a happy marriage, strong relationships, and building kids with a Jesus of their own. Like the ever-living, never-dying souls of the people you know. And the powerless and broken people who break the heart of Jesus.
I love this high tribute to David, the "man after God's own heart": "He fights the Lord's battles" (1 Samuel 25:28). Those are the only ones worth fighting.