Fe Jones

One of the boundaries I have chosen for my life and business is this:

My family is not content.

That does not mean I am hiding them.
It does not mean I am ashamed of them.
It does not mean I do not love sharing life with people who actually know us.

It means I understand the difference between relationship and public access.

The people who are truly connected to my family do not need social media updates to know how we are doing. They can call. They can text. They can visit. They can have real relationship.

But from a business standpoint, I also believe there is an ethical line here.

When someone’s face, story, personality, private moments, or family role is used to build trust, grow engagement, increase visibility, or support a brand, that person is no longer just appearing in a casual post. Their image is being used as part of the business.

That requires wisdom.
That requires consent.
And when it comes to children, it requires even greater restraint.

I do not believe family should be turned into marketing material just because it makes a brand feel warmer, more relatable, or more engaging.

Some things are sacred.
Some things belong offline.
Some people should be loved without being leveraged.

For me, this is part of building with integrity.

My work can be public.

My message can be public.

My family does not have to become public inventory for the sake of growth.

Fear does not always look like panic.

Sometimes it looks like overexplaining, overdelivering, underpricing, comparing, avoiding rest, and needing constant validation before you can trust what God already told you.

That is not excellence.

That is fear trying to manage the work.

I know some of you from time to time have asked me about Bible study and when it would resume. Bible study in the traditional way that we used to do it before on Zoom is not going to resume anytime soon. What I have done is I created some resources and some worksheets for you inside of my Patreon that are going to help you tremendously with your Bible study.

The worksheets are in PDF format, so you can download them and print them. If you rather use a digital notebook, you can download them into your favorite tablet and write on it inside your tablet however you wish to use it.

We are revisiting the Wisdom Journey, which is the Bible study covering the Book of Proverbs. The first four chapters are up. The worksheets are absolutely free, so you don't have to pay anything. You can go ahead and download them and start to use them. Just use the link below.

https://www.patreon.com/cw/fejoneslive.

Patreon Patreon is empowering a new generation of creators. Support and engage with artists and creators as they live out their passions!

I was looking back through one of my inspiration and quote commonplace books and found this old note titled “Knowing your enemy.”

It stopped me because it still holds weight.

I had written down this quote from Sun Tzu:

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.

If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

That is strategy.

Because it is not enough to know what is coming against you. You also have to know yourself. You have to know your weaknesses, your patterns, your blind spots, your desires, and the places where you are vulnerable.

And it is really interesting how the Holy Spirit led me to connect this to Galatians 5:17.

Because for the believer, the enemy is not always just what is outside of us.

Sometimes the enemy is the flesh.

The unchecked appetite.
The unrenewed mindset.
The pride.
The fear.
The offense.
The insecurity.
The ambition that has not been submitted to God.

And this is where a lot of people miss it.

We blame the devil for what our flesh keeps agreeing with.

We call it pressure.
We call it wisdom.
We call it strategy.
We call it self protection.
We call it “just how I am.”

But sometimes it is the flesh warring against the Spirit.

Knowing your enemy means knowing what can be used against you.

Not just who opposes you, but what inside of you is still vulnerable to temptation, manipulation, offense, fear, or deception.

That is why discernment has to go deeper than watching other people.

It has to include watching ourselves.

Because God does not just teach us how to recognize the enemy at the gate.

He teaches us how to guard the door within.

You were not called to become a character for public consumption.

You were called to build with integrity, serve with clarity, and obey God without turning your life into a stage.

Performance drains.

Obedience strengthens.

Build from the right place.

As believers, we were never taught to be transactional.

God is not transactional.

And throughout Scripture, God teaches us over and over again not to treat people like tools, stepping stones, wallets, opportunities, or disposable connections.

Jesus said:

“Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.”
Matthew 7:12, WEB

That alone confronts the transactional spirit.

Do not treat people based on what you can get from them. Treat people the way you would want to be treated.

Philippians says:

“Doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”
Philippians 2:3–4, WEB

That is not transactional living.

That is relational living.

That is kingdom living.

God is telling us to look beyond ourselves. Not because there is something in it for us. Not because the relationship might benefit us later. Not because the person may open a door, make a purchase, refer a client, or give us access.

But because this is how He treats us.

God is relational with us.

He does not use us and then discard us.

He does not only love us when we are useful.

He does not only care for us when we are performing well.

He picks us up from the dirt, from the pit, from the place we could not pull ourselves out of.

Psalm 40 says:

“He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.”
Psalm 40:2, WEB

That is the heart of God.

He rescues.
He restores.
He covers.
He corrects.
He builds.
He loves.

And even when we were not usable in that moment, He still loved us.

Romans 5:8 says:

“But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8, WEB

That means He did not wait until we were impressive.

He did not wait until we were profitable.

He did not wait until we were cleaned up, polished, productive, and easy to work with.

Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

That is not transactional.

That is covenant love.

And if God has loved us that way, we do not have permission to move through the world treating people like they are only valuable when they benefit us.

People are not leads.

People are not wallets.

People are not platforms.

People are not stepping stones.

People are made in the image of God.

So yes, in business, know your numbers. Understand your customer lifetime value. Pay attention to referrals, trust, and long-term relationships.

But do not let business train you to see people as transactions.

Treat people with dignity.

Treat people with respect.

Do good without turning every relationship into a strategy.

Love people without needing immediate proof that it will benefit you.

Because that is how God has loved us.

Some women are not overworking because they lack discipline.

They are overworking because slowing down feels unsafe.

That is the tension we’re examining in this month’s Study Room collection, Building Without Fear.

This self paced teaching and worksheet will help you look at one performance based work pattern, name the fear underneath it, replace that fear with truth, and practice a simple end of day closure rhythm.

Because you can be diligent without being driven.

You can be excellent without being enslaved.

The April Study Room collection, Building Without Fear, is now available inside The Study Room.

51- When Discipline Is Really Fear in Disguise

51- When Discipline Is Really Fear in Disguise - FeJonesLive Some women are not overworking because they lack discipline. They are overworking because slowing down feels unsafe. In this episode, we are talking about the difference between excellence and bo***ge, diligence and drivenness, obedience and fear. Listen now on my website, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Mus...

Before you build the offer, write the post, launch the thing, or say yes to the opportunity, slow down and ask better questions.

Not everything that looks like strategy is obedience.

Not everything that feels urgent is wisdom.

And not everything that gets results is clean.