The Standard

The definition for Standard is: model; criterion; norm

This is a word that is thrown around a lot, especially in the world of Christianity. Phrases like - Raising the Standard, Being the Standard, Setting the Standard.

Today I actually left my office at lunch, which is a very rare thing. The weather was beautiful and I was in need to find a large ice filled glass of diet coke. As I began driving I found my self reflecting on different scenarios I had seen over the past several weeks and those actions we call “Standard”.

Which brings up other questions, like, “Do we have one set of standards when in the Churchhouse and another set of standards when we are at work and then an entirely different set of standards when we are with our friends and family members? Do we have different standards for different occasions? “Do we actually have a “standard” we have for everyone else that we gauge where they fit in our life?

I began thinking about that old sitcom “Sex In The City”. Now that it has been made into a movie – all those women who would never admit to ever watching flocked by the thousands to go see. Ok, stop right there my fine upstanding “Christian Sister”. Do not gasp, while speed dialing to tell that I actually am talking about a program that you yourself have secretly watched for years.

The “Standard”, for “Sex In The City” changed the course of our children sadly enough for the worse. Not to mention what the free ticket to “Sin Overdose” for the young business woman. But that is a subject for a different blog. For this particular blog, I would like to point out that the one factor most prominent in this sitcom was the loyalty of friendship. Good or bad, right or wrong, the friends stuck together and were most forgiving of each other.

How many have had good friends, or known family members that have put you at arms length because you did not meet their “Standard”? It’s a lot to think about and I continue this afternoon to ponder the “Standard” question. One rabbit trail leads to another.

The one thing I have found is that if I truly look at another person in the “Standard” of the eyes of Jesus, I must accept them and love them just the way He loves them. It certainly changes “My Standard”. How’s “Your Standard” looking these days?

In closing, I will be very honest with you, up until the movie (which I have yet to see – Really! – I had never seen the sitcom, but it opened up a whole new world of pondering and profound thinking on a variety of subjects. So stay tune – you will never know what I may pull out of my brain and into my blog.