Saying Goodbye To The Jones’s

It’s hard saying goodbye after such a long time! When they have unintentionally been a part of your life for as long as I can remember!

The Jones’s. I’m sure you have met them, or at least know of them!

I’m pretty sure I first met them when I was a teenager. Actually, I may have met them earlier but it’s hard to recall. I wasn’t formally introduced, but I remember the day so clearly. I was at a friends house and we were sitting on her bed chatting. Next thing she opens her wardrobe and there they were! In all their glory and from that day on I had this overwhelming urge to keep up with them.

The clothes in my friends wardrobe screamed out “You need me” and I was obsessed with having the latest and greatest styles. I would spend all the money I had (and more) just to keep up with them. Just to be like The Jones’s.

But as time went on the compulsion grew. It wasn’t just clothes anymore! No, it was everything! Cars, gadgets, houses, holidays, whatever the Jones’s had I thought I had to have to! And so I strived and I worked, and I spent all my money on stuff and still I couldn’t keep up with them!

Every time I thought I had what they had, they would go and get something newer, something bigger, something shinier, and I was left feeling less than adequate.

If only I could keep up with the Jones’s, then I would be happy right? They are happy aren’t they? Otherwise why would everyone be trying to keep up with them? Surely if I could just work a little harder, spend a little more, borrow a little more, I could be as happy as they are?

And so for years, I fell into their trap. Never being happy with what I had, always trying to be more, have more, and get more, cause then I would be happy right? Wrong!

It has been a humbling lesson and one God has gently been working on me for years now, and I am thrilled to say I am happy to see the back of the Jones’s. No longer do they get to dictate what I do, what I have, where I hang out and what I spend my money on.

I am not defined by what I have. I am defined by who I am. By who God has created me to be, without all the fancy bits I thought I needed to make me successful or accepted. When I stand before God at the end of my life, the Jones’s won’t be there with me and God won’t be asking me if I kept up with them! Nope, He will be asking if I did all He asked me to do, with all that He gave me.

I am not here to please the Jones’s of this world. It has been a hard lesson for me, and one that still rears its ugly head if I don’t reign my thoughts in, but I am here for so much more than that!

Let’s be honest…..The Jones’s never loved me! They were in my life to distract me and keep me from pursuing worthy goals. To distract me, to keep me from being all God has called me to be and do. They never cared about me. It was all just a game to them!

So if you know the Jones’s, can I suggest that they don’t really love or care for you either! Turn away from them and all their shiny, glittery, tempting lures, and pursue what really matters in life. Pursue what you know God has called you to do!