Keeping Up With The Angels

     There is a question that has been troubling me for a long time now: just exactly who are the Jones and why am I supposed to be keeping up with them? Every time I turn around I seem to be bombarded with a single message: Buy! Magazines, radio, billboards and television keep telling me that I need a bigger home, a newer car, more electronics, and fancier clothes. If I get them my life will be complete and if I don’t then I will fall behind the Jones and face utter misery. It is so ridiculous that I just have to laugh.

     Now I don’t know who these mythical Jones are. I am not sure how expensive their house is or how shiny their just bought car looks. I am uncertain about how many new electronic goodies they have purchased or what they do. I have no idea either about what designer labels are on their clothes. I do know that I don’t want to keep up with them, however. Life is more than just things. Life is joy, laughter, and love. Life is friends and family. Life is caring and sharing. Life is a gift from God and I am not going to waste it shopping for more wrapping paper.

     I think I will try to keep up with the angels rather than the Jones then. I may never match the love they share, the good they do, or the truth they spread but I sure will have the time of my life trying. I may not have as much stuff to carry around, but that will leave my arms free for hugging. My rooms and closets may not be as full, but my heart will be a lot fuller. I may not seem as rich in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of Heaven I will be very wealthy indeed.

     Remember you came into this world with nothing and that is how you will leave it too. Why not spend your days here loving others, sharing joy and growing in oneness with God? Why not spend your time here making this world better for us all? You won’t be keeping up with the Jones, but your soul will be flying with the angels.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella ~

[ by: Joseph J. Mazzella (joecool@wirefire.com) -- {used with permission} ]