By What Measure?

In anything we measure we have to have a standard against which to measure it. For length, then, we might choose inches or meters or some such -- standard measurements of length. For sound we often use decibels (although most of us don't really know what that means). Oh, I know a good example. For sin, we use God's law. You see, that last one is illustrative of the point because we can use God's law which isn't changing or we can use Man's law which changes daily ... almost literally. Which means Man's law can't be a standard ... because it's changing continuously. And that's a problem.

In everything that we measure there must be a standard. The trick, then, is picking a good standard -- a good means of measurement. So for business you might use profit and growth, but not for charitable organizations. Those would look at wise spending for the broadest effect. So what standard we use varies by application. "Good" is a valuation that requires "bad" to define it, because a "good pizza" and a "good dog" and a "good man" are not the same things. Standards.

Paul wrote:

When they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. (2 Cor 10:12)

Welcome to our nightmare. Here we see the problem that nearly all of us face. How do we measure our success? Am I a good _____? A good father/mother, good son/daughter, good worker, good Christian ... on and on. How do we measure that? By what standard? Almost without exception we do it by comparing ourselves to others of the same type. Which would normally seem like a good idea and even normally would be, except not in this case. Because we have genuine, reliable standards, and they aren't each other. Do you want to know if you're successful as one of those types of things? Compare yourself to The Standard. Look to Jesus (Heb 12:1). Find what God says. "By this we may know that we are in Him," John wrote. "Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked." (1 John 2:6-7) Paul told the Corinthian Christians, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 Cor 11:1) We have the seemingly impossible command to "be imitators of God, as beloved children." (Eph 5:1) It is, in fact, God's plan for your life (Rom 8:29). "As good as your neighbor" is not the standard we are handed. "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" is (Matt 5:48).

We have a lot of problem with standards. Typically it is precisely the problem of comparing ourselves with each other. Then I'm not so bad. I'm more middle. Maybe even a little better. But not bad. It's the wrong standard. And that's where we get tripped up. We even have the audacity to judge God by our own standards. Now that's arrogance.