We all have standards in life. You and me. Some of your standards could be that you don’t want to live at your parent’s house forever, some could be that you want to take a bath twice a day, etc. There are lots of different kinds of standards that we have set – conciously and/or unconsciously.
Where do we get our standards?
Our standards don’t just pop into our heads like an idea. It is made and formed out of lifestyle. Simply put, we get our standards from wants and don’t wants.
We see the lives of other people. We see the lives of our parents, our siblings, our friends. We see the lifestyles of each and every person we meet and know – and from there we then come to a realization of what we want out life to be. You can say that we compare and measure the lives we want with the lives we’re seeing and experiencing now.
There are different kinds of standards:
Some standards you can let go of
These are the standards that you’ve set before you thought about it thoroughly. These are the standards that need changing and that can be improved. These are the standards that you can improve on or that you can leave behind in order to adopt a new one.
For example: You were brought up to always head straight to breakfast. Someone told you to first wash your hands before doing so – you change your standard and now you decide to wash your hands before every meal.
Some standards you keep
These are the standards that are instilled in you. You’ve created and protected these standards with reasoning, belief and decision.
For example: You always pray and read God’s Word after you wake up and before you sleep.
Some standards you have to die for
These are the standards that you believe in with all your heart. These are the standards that you will never let go of no matter what the reason.
For example: Your standard of refusing to deny Christ as your Lord and Savior.
What are the standards today?
I believe that we lack standards in our time today. The world teaches you that standards are a barrier for growth and understanding. The world tells you that having no standard is okay – that way you’re flexible and are true to yourself.
These are all lies.
If you do not have a standard, you’re not becoming more flexible. You’re becoming weak. Without your own standards, the world will set it for you. And the world’s standards will sooner or later destroy your life.
I see a lot of men today without standards – even ‘Christian’ men. Most of them have standards so low that they sit on it and are humming their lives away comfortably. They don’t want to marry because it’s a hassle. They don’t want to work because they can live off with what their parents have anyway. They play computer games all day because they’re good at it. They want sex but they don’t want the committment of marriage. And they think they’re ‘real men’.
Ladies, don’t set your standards low as to settle for men like these. Set your standards high too because real Christian men still exist in this world. You are worth the wait and God will be the one to put him through your way.
Where do you find the right standards?
Where do we look for standards? Do we search for it in friends? Maybe. Do we look for it from billboards? From books perhaps?
The first place to look for your standards is from the creator and designer of your life. He’s laid it all out in His Word. The standards we have to live in come from the Bible. Who would better know the rules and standards that are best for us than the one who created us?
Set your standards
Real men set their standards high – so high that they need to push themselves to jump in order to reach it.
