Standards and Expectation: Yours, minds, and ours

Isaiah 55:8-9 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Standards and expectations - yours, minds, and ours, what we all use to justify our behaviors, works, and/or deeds done. But there are times, more than I would like to count, we speak with fork tongue, or with a double standard- ‘do what I say, not as I do’ – this has not work in years but it is still being used...(shaking my head)… We have create these standards and expectation for our life, as if we have the market on what should or should not be, and become horrid if someone challenges us by not following or adhere to what we believe should be. However, I am not saying there is not some universal truths out there for all to follow, but I am talking about those things that keep friends/family/races/faith apart. The things, we cannot substantiate with nothing but ‘this is just right’, or ‘this is the way it done’ , or traditions because far too many people are going to jail, the grave, and hell over this, and living in enmity with one another for these reason…really, I thought did or did not the word state…Romans 12:9 – Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord… The sad thing is, as time passes, we forget why, we only have the anger, the pain, the hurt, the separation, the negative feeling keeping us company, as our pride keeps us from crossing the great divide. As Christian, we got to do better…(shaking my head).   

See, despite our desire, we can only control one thing: our actions. Nothing more. Nothing less. The same goes for everyone else. As humans, all we can truly control are our actions. The difference between where you are right now and where you want to be as an individual, in life is your thoughts, your belief, your heart, your actions. They are all under the individual’s control, but that's enough. To change your life, or change the world you must control and change you from the inside out.  But here is the problem: most of us don’t truly control those things in our life. Instead we relinquish the control to the natural flow of the world around us- we react to stuff as it comes instead of thinking and responding – based on the some past story or a generational or negative cycle that has been unconsciously and seamlessly interwoven into our lives. And we sit waiting for everyone else to see, we are the right ones and they are wrong. The problem is we all have short comings. We fail to realize, if the other person changes, and we don’t, we still have the problem. We must do the changing, each and every one of us. And us religious folk, we got it bad.

Religiosity gives people some belief they have the market on good, wise, right, true, and important. Really!? The problem is we are not perfect. How can we have the market on this….sigh…What I do know is this, our ways are not God’s, and we cannot decipher His infinite sagacious majestic wisdom.  For we cannot hold to this truth, that would keeps us Christian out of the madness – John 3:16-17 -  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. How did we get it so wrong!...If we just get these verses instilled in our minds, hearts and souls, our personal life would change tremendously. ..It is important, it is wise… I am working on it, how about you?... Your choice, choose well?

Criticism

I receive an email from a friend today of a daily devotion, and it spoke of Godly response to criticism using Proverbs 15:31-33. The first thing the author states is no one like criticism…lol…Yeah, he is right. However, I have long accepted it to be part of God’s refining process in order to develop us into the person, He designed us to be. As well as it comes from the learned and the unlearned, the expected and the unexpected, and also, from those look up to me…smiling… My issue, pet peeve is not the criticism. It is today and always been (once I understood) the timeliness of the delivery, the intent of the person providing it because they provide the stinger, not the words.

What I have come to understand is this, things look the same but they are not. However, we emotional are beings who have ravished on the plate of protecting, not showing weakness, or fear of being wrong, we miss the importance of proper usage of criticism. We tend to run from it when it involves someone we love, until we want to make a point to them about something. Yet, when it is someone we don’t care about, we use it to hurt them, to show them up, or to show our superiority. Finally, we use it to show how smart or gifted we are.If you have prove it, will it matter to the person who does not believe... I think, Christ taught us that...wink

God never meant for this to be the case. Reproof yes, but not intentional hurt. We have once again taken what God meant for good, and used it far too many times, for evil. We broken, lost, and confused lot are we, let our man’s logic supersedes God divine order. Then we wonder why does it hurt so bad to hear, to endure, to accept, or to deliver. We have lost the true intent of the reproof. See it is like this, me asking you to do what I want you to do, and me seeking the best for you. They may look the same, but they are not the same. One desires your best for you, while the other does not. Or when we have to hurt to help, rather than hurt for destruction. We have to say no, because we know it is the best, but it hurts the receiver.Yes, all things work together but no one likes to be beat up everyday, at every encounter with us...

The same is correct of criticism. Constructive criticism and condemning criticism are clothed in the same, but their intent is as different as Godly love and man’s.  As Christian, we got to do better because iron sharpening iron but it also give off sparks. Who wants to constantly live like that, not me! When will we learn to love, with the love we were commissioned to give; you just have to live to get it. Hold a trust that is unshakable because of its depths, and a hope which silence any spectators wondering, if it is real. Then, and only then shall we see criticism in it true form, and accept the reproof with an attentive ear, an open heart, and silence mouth….

For is this not true – John 3:17- For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (NIV).. So should we, as Christians.. just sayin’… J