It does not matter if you like it or not, we live in a world of standards. They are there to give us benchmarks and goals to live by. Many types exist, but a lot of people don’t pay attention to them.
Those standards can come from our laws, our employers, our clubs, groups, and even our own minds. It is imperative that we operate on a set of standards that force us to improve our lives.
Have you ever read over a document from a government or regulatory agency? The standards are often vague, confusing, and ultimately setup to where they can be manipulated to serve the needs of the agency. The standards we set for ourselves are typically lower than they should be. The Bible has a set of standards we are to live by that sets the bar so high that it could be impossible to fully satisfy them.
It seems as though the measuring stick is always moving, and it is impossible to meet it without lowering it. The one thing about standards that we have gotten wrong about it is lowering them so more people can meet them. Lowering the minimum requirements weakens the outcome. It makes us less effective and ultimately will lead us to failure.
Think of our military. Would you rather soldiers who can run for miles with equipment and weapons, or soldiers who tire out after a few hundred yards or a few minutes? What about professional athletes? How enjoyable would it be for us to watch your sport of choice being played by some true athletes, vs some random dads having to have timeouts every few minutes because they are not in shape enough to perform?
Standards matter. Keeping them high matters. Never lower your standard to appease anyone around you. When the standard is lowered to accept incompetence, our world gets weaker. Our society is getting softer as time goes by. We have lost the win or lose mentality, and have taken more of the inclusive, everything is ok mindset. People need to learn how to win and lose. There needs to be that distinction in our world. Without it, the standard is lost and we are doomed to fall into the trap of mediocrity.
Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times." - G. Michael Hopf
That quote has stuck with me the last few years. Strong men have standards they uphold. Let’s be strong together.
“What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, “I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.””
Romans 9:30-33 NLT