Author
Donna Shepherd
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Who Are The Joneses
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Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
-- Matthew 6:21
I remember my mother and her friends performing tasks on a schedule. Like many other homemakers, my mother did laundry on Monday and
ironed on Tuesday. She went to the grocery Friday nights right after Dad cashed his paycheck. Not a Saturday went by that we five
children didn't do our chores.
Discipline is a good thing. Mom taught us how to keep a schedule and how to take care of our possessions. By Saturday afternoon, we had
a fridge full of food, a manicured lawn, and a sparkling house.
But once I heard of a woman we'll call Betty who took her responsibility to take care of her house too far. One day her sister came to
town and called Betty to ask her to lunch. Betty, so obsessed with cleaning her house, found herself saying, "No, I couldn't possibly
go. Today is the day I vacuum my drapes."
As those words left Betty's lips, she realized how foolish she had been. She was sacrificing relationships with her sister, her husband,
and even her children while she slavishly worked to keep her house in order.
Many of us live in a society that values people by what job they have, what car they drive, and what home they live in. Having property
and keeping a nice house is wonderful. God blesses us with our possessions and as good stewards, we should take care of them. But if you
let anything – houses, cars, wardrobe, your job, or your bank account, take precedence over your relationship with God, family, and
friends, you've lost sight of what's most important.
Are we trusting God when we stress over jobs, houses, and cars? Are these the most important things in life? Jesus preached in the
Sermon on the Mount, "Why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you
that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is
here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What
shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"
(Matthew 6:28-33 NIV). We might not have the biggest house, the newest car, or fanciest clothes, but God provides for us as we trust
Him.
I have found that the more I have, the more I have to maintain. In many ways, I've simplified my life, and I know more and more people
who are doing the same. Jennifer Devlin, Bible teacher and author of
Life Principles for Christ-like Living
, and
Verses We Know by Heart: Discovering the Details of Familiar Old Testament Passages,
knows about evaluating what's important. Recently she told me, "I have cut back on a variety of purchasing and have re-evaluated
priorities. This season in our economy has helped me focus more on my relationship with God, and being a better steward of the resources
He provides us. I've grown closer to God, and look forward to seeing how I will continue to change as a result of this refocus."
Somehow I don't see Jennifer choosing to vacuum drapes over sharing the love of Christ with someone or having lunch with a sister.
Simplifying our lives and keeping a proper balance frees us to to serve God in a greater capacity. We have time to minister to our
family and others. It would be a shame if a son or daughter didn't ask you to say prayers before bed because you were too busy
straightening up the house, wouldn’t it?
Simple Living Tip
When you're tempted to try to 'keep up with the Joneses,' seek God first. Pray over your passions. Do they matter in light of eternity?
