Scripture: Luke 16:15b Jesus says, “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”
Observation: This saying from Jesus is contained in a chapter that focuses on the “detestable” things we humans sometimes crave. We often covet, or “highly value,” things and people more than we crave God and his will. Our desires and God’s ways are, at times, extremely incongruent. The things we value can become obstacles to God’s best work in and through us.
Application: Black Friday shopping, which some endured yesterday, in many ways epitomizes how what we value God detests. I understand that Black Friday bargains enable shoppers to get “bigger and better” for less. But there is a dark side to “Black” Friday. We are driven to purchase more than we need, to competitively keep up with the possessions of those around us, and to feed our consumeristic cravings, even if we have to literally trample on others to do so. The desire to “keep up with the Joneses” and to “get mine” could need be more counter to the Gospel of sacrificial love. It seems so odd that the Black Friday “get mine” mentality comes one day after we “give thanks.” These two days, I think, depict how what we highly value is often detestable to God.
Prayer: Lord, help me to value what you value and to detest what you detest. Amen.
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