People Are Not My Standard

Must be a Friday, that title could be taken in so many ways. What we have here is a failure to seek the proper context before jumping in. Okay...now I'm really confused.

In our celebrity pop culture, we are presented with many ideals. We have standards of beauty, musculature, body size, shape, ways to act, and ways in which to act up. Many young celebrities appear especially skilled at the last one. The problem comes when we become awed by these people and seek to use them as a standard in any portion of our life. They have their reward, and we must seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Even in a career with no obvious connection to pop culture, we may grab a little idol for ourselves by looking to a person who appears to have it made in our chosen field. The director or CEO appears wealthy (and probably is), successful, powerful, and all the other things we look for in the world. How many can sit in his chair though? That person already exists and has his reward. We must look to Christ and follow His way; His throne has room for many.

What about the church? Do we sometimes look at the man or woman on the screen or in the pulpit and do a little idol gazing? It can happen. A minister becomes skilled at speaking from the pulpit over the years and makes it look easy, smooth, and, gosh, almost righteous. Surely, he or she has a special anointing from God and leads a spotless life too. Perhaps that is true, but it does not give us an excuse to use the man or woman as our standard. Did you realize what a gift God gave us in calling our ministers home?

How awful for us if ministers (or writers!) went on and on, getting better and more skilled as the decades and centuries passed until, oops, someone dared to call him by the Lord's name. There is only one Jesus, and we have a man born of woman who lived the standard set in the Law. If we are to emulate a life, that must be the one. However, perish the thought of doing it in our own strength. If that were possible, we wouldn't need a standard. Want righteousness? Take what is offered in Christ!

Glad to love you on this glorious Friday by the mercy of God our Father,
Bucky