Are you looking at the Jones's or looking unto Jesus? The scripture shows us two things: We must live for God and be content with what we have.
A lot of people get in trouble because they are still trying to keep up with the Jones's. One family looks at another family who appears to be prosperous. Their kids look at the other kids and see something they don't have. The wife looks at what her husband produces financially and compares it to what someone else's husband produces.
Husbands look at what someone else's wife is and compares her to his own wife. They become discontent with what they have, because their eyes are in the wrong place. And discontentment will lead to ungodliness and great loss.
When I was a kid, down the street from my house was a drug dealer's house. He sold drugs out of his house, and it looked like everything was working well for that family. They had the long car. Back then the car to have was the "Duce and A Quarter"—also known as the Electra 225. They had the women. They had all the money. They had the flashy clothes.
And my friends and I would sit there looking at them thinking, "I want that." That is...until we saw the police cart them away. Well, they were living ungodly and it looked like they were prospering nicely.
Now the devil will have you looking at what other people have, but he won't tell you the whole story. Sin has a price and it will destroy you. It will bring arrest, trouble, and all types of destruction in your life. But godly living brings joy and peace.
I want you to know if you are healthy, if God has blessed you with a family, if you've got peace of mind, you are far ahead in this game. And you need to be content, and thank God for what you have and get your eyes off of what everybody else has. Decide that godliness is the way you will go, because godliness with contentment is great gain.
Scripture References: Proverbs 10:24-25
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).
