Keeping Up With the Joneses

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else. — Galatians 6:4

Are you ever tempted to look at the neighbors and compare yourself to them? Perhaps from your perch on the porch, their lives look pretty great. You see them open their car doors, and trash doesn’t even fall out. Meanwhile, you could feed a small country with the discarded french fries and cereal remnants in the floor of your van. The last time you used the restroom at their house, it felt like a trip to the spa. It’s a good day if yours has some toilet paper left on the roll.

The enemy wants you to think that the neighbors have it easier than you.

He wants to convince you that they are better than you. Satan doesn’t want people to join together in community. He doesn’t want open, honest relationships. He would much rather you isolate yourself and feel alone. The enemy wants you to believe that no one else deals with the things you deal with at home. But it’s all a lie.

No one is living a perfect life. Everyone has heartache, drama, and sleepless nights. You don’t need to compare yourself to someone else in order to feel good about yourself. If you’re doing the very best you can, then take pride in each day. It doesn’t matter if their children always wear matching outfits and your kids don’t even wear matching socks. At the end of the day, it doesn’t mean a thing. Don’t allow insecurity and the comparison game to keep you from loving your neighbor. And chances are, they’re sitting on their porch thinking that your life looks pretty great.

I have played the timid, insecure person for too long, Lord. I have listened to the enemy’s lies and allowed him to shame me into isolation. Give me the boldness to be real with others so that they feel the freedom to be real, too.

Excerpted with permission from Devotions from the Front Porch, copyright Thomas Nelson.

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Your Turn

Does your life feel messier than others’? Have the enemy’s lies shamed you into isolation? Today, find someone safe to be real with and ask them to be real with you, too! We’re not meant to do life alone. We need to share our brokenness and help each other heal and grow. Come join the conversation on our blog. We want to hear from you about quitting trying to keep up with the Joneses! ~ Devotionals Daily