Lower the Standard?

I see it happening all around us. I believe it happens at schools, at work, and even at home. There is a student or worker that is struggling with the work. Instead of trying to help them reach for the stars, we lower the standard. I think about the work, the pay, and the focus that was part of my daily life. Now I look at people complaining that they can’t make a comfortable living doing basic work. There are starter jobs that we took to get experience and to pay for the things we needed. As I got more education or if someone had the opportunity to move up in their own workplace or work for someone who offered a better job, we’d hand in our two weeks notice and begin again. Today I see some of the youth that just quite because they don’t like what they are doing or the boss won’t let them have all the time off that they want, when they want it. In order to try keeping workers or keep some of the students from failing, the standard is lowered. In fairness, the attitude of some students that they might work with is not focused or disciplined. When the standard is lowered, everyone loses. If we want to see things change, we either need to get parents more involved, have a way to discipline the students with real consequences, or both. I think there is a similar attitude in many people's faith. We might go through the motions, but there is no real drive. We go because it suits us, not because we need Jesus. Sadly, we don’t live with a spiritual passion that acts as if our life depended on a deep unshakable life. God has not, nor will He ever lower the standards. Do you think God would have let His son die if there was another option? God demands perfection. I am sometimes just trying to make it through the day. How can I compare? If God doesn’t lower the standards, who can stand? The standard of perfection remains for entry into heaven. What has changed is the means to reach perfection. Jesus bore upon His own body God’s wrath that was intended for my sin. He fulfilled the law, took the punishment for sin, conquered the power fo death, and gained eternity in Heaven for any who would surrender to God. Believing in God will necessarily change my heart and mind. My desire switches from selfish to selfless. I am not my own anymore. I belong to Jesus. He redeemed me. I owe him my all. Lord, thank You for not lowering the standards or compromising our faith and the hope of heaven. Save me from myself. Amen