Keeping Up With The Joneses
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.
- Proverbs 23:1-5
Keeping up with the Joneses. I remember growing up my parents telling me that we aren't trying to keep up with the Joneses. The Joneses were a family that I had never met, but apparently they always had all the stuff I wanted. How the heck did they do that?!
This proverb is directing us to not want after things to make us richer, more powerful, or have a higher status. It even directs us that when we start trying to live our lives with wealth as the goal, it will almost surely flee us.
Real Talk? I have this issue, and at its core, it's an identity issue. My issue isn't really about money though. It's not about a house. It's not about a car. It's way more dirty than that. My issue is about church.
The Joneses in my life are those pastors at the conferences I go to. Not the famous ones, that's not a desire of mine...well not one that I entertain much. It's the pastors of churches that just seem to have it all together, are growing, are large, and don't seem messy at all. While I know that stuff isn't always true, the grass is always greener, huh?
As I sit here and self-assess, I realize that this idea of keeping up with the Joneses is a huge identity issue. The issue is that I'm not content with how Jesus is working on my life and in our church. Furthermore, I feel like I'm not quite good enough. Like I am a disappointment to God. That's the real issue.
I am not saying that I go around moping about the state of my life or our church. I feel very blessed by my life and all that God is doing at The Well. But when I let myself go there, my heart can get ugly.
But God doesn't require anything extra of me. Even if our church crashes and fails, He still loves me. Even if we never get big, He still loves me.
The same applies to you. All God wants from you is for you to find your joy in Him! He wants you to be content with Him. The Joneses don't exist! Because guess what. The second you keep up with them, a new family named the Joneses appears and you'll be trying to keep up with them.
God wants you to be you. He made you that way, and when you are and praise Him for it, you will get to experience joy. Screw the Joneses.
I'm praying for our whole church that we would be freed from the idea that we have to keep up. Praying that we are free from the lie that we don't measure up. God redeemed us and makes us Holy in His eyes. Who else do we need to prove ourselves to?
Charlie
2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.
- Proverbs 23:1-5
Keeping up with the Joneses. I remember growing up my parents telling me that we aren't trying to keep up with the Joneses. The Joneses were a family that I had never met, but apparently they always had all the stuff I wanted. How the heck did they do that?!
This proverb is directing us to not want after things to make us richer, more powerful, or have a higher status. It even directs us that when we start trying to live our lives with wealth as the goal, it will almost surely flee us.
Real Talk? I have this issue, and at its core, it's an identity issue. My issue isn't really about money though. It's not about a house. It's not about a car. It's way more dirty than that. My issue is about church.
The Joneses in my life are those pastors at the conferences I go to. Not the famous ones, that's not a desire of mine...well not one that I entertain much. It's the pastors of churches that just seem to have it all together, are growing, are large, and don't seem messy at all. While I know that stuff isn't always true, the grass is always greener, huh?
As I sit here and self-assess, I realize that this idea of keeping up with the Joneses is a huge identity issue. The issue is that I'm not content with how Jesus is working on my life and in our church. Furthermore, I feel like I'm not quite good enough. Like I am a disappointment to God. That's the real issue.
I am not saying that I go around moping about the state of my life or our church. I feel very blessed by my life and all that God is doing at The Well. But when I let myself go there, my heart can get ugly.
But God doesn't require anything extra of me. Even if our church crashes and fails, He still loves me. Even if we never get big, He still loves me.
The same applies to you. All God wants from you is for you to find your joy in Him! He wants you to be content with Him. The Joneses don't exist! Because guess what. The second you keep up with them, a new family named the Joneses appears and you'll be trying to keep up with them.
God wants you to be you. He made you that way, and when you are and praise Him for it, you will get to experience joy. Screw the Joneses.
I'm praying for our whole church that we would be freed from the idea that we have to keep up. Praying that we are free from the lie that we don't measure up. God redeemed us and makes us Holy in His eyes. Who else do we need to prove ourselves to?
Charlie
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