I play golf on a regular basis with a bunch of old, excuse me, older folks. After finishing our round on Tuesday (and yes, it was hot), we were adding up our scores. I was actually pretty pleased with my round. As we compared scores, one of my playing partners, J.B., wasn’t that pleased with his round. And he shot the same score as I did! I laughed and thought to myself, “Well, J.B.’s standards are a lot higher than mine!” And his game is usually much better than mine. Okay, almost always much better than mine.
In other words, how we felt about our golf Tuesday depended on what our standards were. Oxford Languages defines “standard” as “a level of quality and attainment,” and “an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations.” Yes, J.B.’s expectations of a level of quality and attainment in his golf game are much higher than mine.
We hear much these days about the lowering of standards in many areas. I remember when “casual Fridays” were the only days you didn’t have to wear a tie to work. I wear a tie now so seldom I’m not sure how to tie one.
The problem in lowering standards is that it affects behavior, often for the worse. And that is much more important than a golf score or wearing a tie. How you respond to that standard depends on your conscience.
Oswald Chambers, in his devotional classic, “My Utmost for His Highest,” wrote,
“Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what we regard as the highest standard.”
So, what if that “highest standard” is troubling you? What if you don’t like the demands that standard makes of you? What if your conscience is troubling you because you can’t, or don’t want to, work toward that standard?
That’s easy; just change the standard to one that works for you. The current culture will help you find that new standard. It will say that the highest standard is not relevant to today’s world. Just follow the standard of the culture around you and you will be happy. And it’s hard to have a troubled conscience when there’s not a standard that demands anything from me.
Except in the back recesses of our minds, we know better. Because “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). We know the direction the culture is leading us is the wrong path. We’ve seen too many hurt and broken lives along that path, even if at present it may seem easier and more pleasurable.
But there is another path, a higher standard. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) To be honest, none of us will attain that standard set before us in that teaching by Jesus. But it is in the journey, the seeking, that we find purpose, meaning, and “all these things” that really matter. The standard is there to help guide us along that path.
In the devotional, Chambers asks a question that is simple and to the point. He asks, “If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s standard in front of me, my
conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey?”