Cindy Donaldson, St. Luke’s member since 2012

Center yourself on today’s reflection by lighting a candle and reciting this breath prayer:
Inhale – O Light that shines in our darkness
Exhale – come and free us from our sin.

Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 

Reflection:
We all know the Joneses, as in the expression “keeping up with the Joneses.” Your idea of the person, or family, it seems you should be. They appear to have their lives together, and they have heaping quantities of the characteristics—or stuff—that you want. Money, power, influence, style, and so on. Before you know it, you have put this person, or type of person, on a pedestal as your idol. You begin making choices because you think that is the choice they would make. When you find yourself living this way, the Joneses have become your master.

The past few years have been a time of spiritual renewal for my husband and me. This helped us see ourselves more clearly, and we became convicted about what we saw—just how much control we were giving the Joneses over our choices. Of course, there was no singular “Jones” in our life. Just a mosaic of images we thought we were supposed to embody. So, we stopped. We let go of the Joneses. We made some big changes in our lives and the ways we commit our time and resources, and I feel a greater sense of “me” than I have in years.

Catching up with the Joneses puts you on a hamster wheel. When you step off the wheel, your breathing slows down. You see a different view. And it is beautiful, because it is from your perspective, not through the lens of how you think the Joneses would like you to see it. Chasing the Joneses is like trying to catch a cloud. The attainment you seek in becoming their replica slips through your fingers, because there is always more to be had of whatever it is you want. Your chase never satisfies. On the other hand, catching up with Jesus and making him your master—that you can take hold of. That fulfills. That satisfies. That is not elusive.

God has a will for our lives, and it is not as a carbon copy of an idolized person or family. God designed you with a “best you” as a blueprint, which you can be when the Lord is your master. There is a gap between where we are now and that blueprint. Try to close the gap by praying, studying scripture, and listening to the quiet strong voice of the Holy Spirit and the direction in which he’s pointing you. As Matthew 6:24 says, you cannot serve two masters. The closer you are to closing that gap between the true you—not a replica of someone else—and where God wants you to be, the closer you are to choosing your one-and-only master.

Closing Prayer:
Gracious God, I desire to be who you want me to be. Please help me put aside my pride and participation in the comparison game, and care only if I am living your will for my life. Thank you for this gift of life you have given me, help me to shape my life after your design. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.