Challenge: One Standard

But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.  Col 3:8 NASB

I have a bad habit.  I tend to compare myself to other people when it comes to where I am spiritually.  I know without a doubt that I can follow the example of others in my growth, and I am continually inspired by the lives of faithful men and women.  The problem does not come from following their example.  It comes when I look at the wide range of humanity around me and try to use them as my standard for spiritual growth.  In this world I find any range of standards that can either make me feel like a person of great righteousness or the scum of the earth.

The only standard I can hold myself to is that of Christ.  And, when I read verses like Col 3:8 and its surrounding context, I see just where I am based on the standard of Christ.  I see how greatly I cling to my rights and how that produces within me all of the things this verse says I am to put aside.  And this is just one verse of many!

I am challenged to actively follow the examples of men and women of the faith who have gone before me, but to compare myself to no one but my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To hold myself to no standard but His, put forth in His Word.  And to start with Col 3:8, putting aside all of my rights and the emotions that go with preserving them.