Keeping up with The Joneses by Marvin James

Well Well, now that Christmas is over, we can get to the next big day which is New Years. I’m going to keep it real, I’ve already began my thought processing for what lofty resolutions I could come  up with. The first one is to quit smoking because I’m not getting any younger and I would like to see my kids for a while longer; also it wouldn’t be bad to grow old with my wife. The second resolutions would have to be, keeping my word; if I say, “No” then I mean No. By the way, I’m really considering eating healthier, which means so long to Popeye’s Chicken. One that my wife and I will definitely be working on is saving more money.

As I began to look at my list of items that I would like to work on; I noticed that all of them share one major common thread; there all external. You see, what difference does it make if I have thousands in my bank account but my insides are bankrupt? Honestly, I’m like many others who want to work on the things that other people see and judge me on. I heard my man Bizzle say, “What good is your status, when your trash on the inside, and your heart is full of malice?” Maybe instead of watching those calories, our families would benefit more from us watching those lustful, selfish, destructive thoughts and desires that run through our mind on a daily basis. Sometimes I’m more concerned with what other people think than what God thinks. It’s a typical case of “Keeping Up with the Joneses”. I am more worried about seeming less important socially than others are. Maybe if I was as concerned about what God thought instead of what people thought, I wouldn’t have been a felon, alcoholic, absentee father and a host of other unspeakable, voluntary characters.

 So here it is, my resolution for 2015; SURRENDERING TO GOD!  GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO CONTROL MY LIFE. PLAYING THE BACKGROUND TO THE ONE WHO MADE ME FROM THE GROUND.