Weekly Reflection – Jordache

When I was in middle school, I recall bugging my mother relentlessly for a pair of Jordache jeans.

I was positive I was the only one in the free world without a pair. Sure, it was a fad but my twelve-year old self didn’t care. I just knew they would be the answer to all my social angst. So, I waited impatiently and eventually my mom gave in and bought me a pair. They were a very dark blue and had fluorescent yellow stitching. Not exactly my first choice of color, but hey, they were still Jordache jeans. I remember wearing them once, getting them washed, shrinking, and then being too tight to wear again. Not exactly the fairytale ending that I had hoped. It was pretty anticlimactic. Then to top it off, I felt guilty for wasting my parent’s money. Maybe if the jeans came with beautiful layered bangs like the girls in the ads….then just maybe they would have been worth it.

I would like to think my days of coveting are over, but heck, I can’t even go to a restaurant without getting "order envy". It just seems so natural to want what others have.

The problem with coveting/envy is a self-focus on what you wish you had instead of gratitude about how God has already blessed you. It can cause you to question God’s goodness and love for you. Have you ever noticed how your feelings about someone change when they have something you desire for yourself? Those negative feelings toward others eventually turn into negative feelings toward God. It is a heart issue. So, what do we do about it?

Pay very close attention to the things that lead you to doubt God’s goodness and grace toward you. That’s sin. Once we can identify it is happening, it is much easier to turn away from it. What has made you doubt God’s goodness lately? Can you trace it back to what someone else has that you feel you are lacking?

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. I Timothy 6:6

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30