Five Stars

You've heard of "five star hotels". I'm sure you get the idea. "Five stars" is top of the line. It's the best. You can't get any better. That's what they're trying to convey. Only one problem. Can you guess what it is?

The "five star" rating is ambiguous, you see. If the standard is "one to five stars", then a five star rating is the top. Got it. No problem. But what if the standard is ten stars? Oh, now, hold on. Now this 5-star rating is average. In the military we had a rating of 1 to 9, but if you had anything less than a 7, you were considered a problem. A 5? Discipline will likely follow. Do not expect an honorable discharge. But what if the standard is how many stars out of a hundred? Okay, at this point we have a problem. This 5-star rated hotel isn't good or even average. It is potentially dangerous and perhaps ought to be shut down. Or whatever. No, of course I'm not talking about your favorite hotel. I'm pointing to the problem of standards. What is "good"?

The issue is not merely an exercise in language or philosophy. It is a question of ultimate importance. We almost routinely ask, "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" And there it is. What is "good"? We question whether God is right in punishing people we think are good. I recently read someone's piece (can't find it to cite it ... sorry) that "proves" that Christianity is wrong by using Ghandi who was good and, according to Christianity, not in heaven. What is "good"? Most importantly, when tough times come our way, we demand, "Why would God allow this to happen to me?" with the implied "I'm good" at its core. What is "good"?

When comparing ourselves with what we see, we just might rate ourselves as four or five stars. Then we consider that Jesus said, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt 5:48) and we should realize that's four or five stars on a scale of 1 to 1000. We figure we have something going for us until we read the biblical certainty that "no one does good, not even one." (Rom 3:12) What we have here is a problem of standards. We're making a five star comparison in a universe of stars.

At real issue here, as it turns out, is not us. It is God and His justice. The Bible says we are "estranged from the womb", that we "go astray from birth, speaking lies" (Psa 58:3). David asserted that he was sinful from conception (Psa 51:5). And then we complain about the story from 1st Samuel when God ordered Israel to kill a group of people for their sin. "That's not fair!" Because we're arguing from a five-star standard against a thousand-star God.

It is this problem of standards and how far we fall short (Rom 3:23) that makes our need so great and God's grace and mercy so huge. We would be wise to consider better the standard we are under, our failure to even glimpse it, our need for a Savior, and the wonders of a God who, without any necessity to do so, provided a remedy for our shortcomings.