“It’s not how much you have that makes people look up to you, it’s who you are.” ~ Elvis Presley
There are so many people who play the ol’ game of “keep up with the Joneses.” It’s really a sad, pathetic game where someone feels that he or she needs to have the same things as a neighbor, relative, or friend. If someone purchases a new car, for example, the other needs to purchase one in order to keep up. If someone buys a new house, the other person needs to buy a new house. If someone gets a promotion, the other fights for a promotion. It it not so much about improving oneself or the quality of one’s life. It is more about keeping up with another person.
Doing that is really stressful as there are times, no matter how hard a person tries, that he or she cannot keep up with the other. It’s all a wash in the end, though, as the old saying goes, “He who dies with the most is still dead.” We often set our sights on the wrong pursuits.
People don’t look up to us because we have things. They don’t look up to us because we are powerful. They don’t look up to us because we are famous. People will look up to us if we are genuine, if we show care and concern for others, and if we reflect God’s love in our lives. That’s what they care about. They don’t care about all of our “stuff”. They just want to care about us and they want us to care about them, no matter what they have or don’t have.
You see, that is the other side of the “having stuff” coin. If we get trapped in having what others have, we most likely will also adopt the attitude of looking down on those who do not have what we have fought so hard to get. We need to learn that it is not our possessions that can guarantee happiness or eternal life. It is not fame and fortune that can guarantee happiness or eternal life. I have known people who had a LOT and were still miserable.
What guarantees happiness and eternal life is Jesus Christ. If we embrace Him and live as He lived, we will have no need to worry. Following Him will keep us on the straight and narrow road that leads to heaven. If we constantly gaze at the possessions of others, we will lose sight of the road that we must follow. Don’t let the lures of the world keep your eyes from the path that leads to the Kingdom. The world will end. God’s Kingdom will never end.
FAITH ACTION: Ask God to help you to live your life today in such a manner as to influence others for good.