We are getting to that time of year where everybody begins to think about what their resolutions are going to be for the new year. They always tend to revolve around losing weight, quitting a habit, or spending more time with family. And while I know that not everyone sticks by their New Year’s resolution throughout the new year, there is one thing we all do as we decide on our resolution: Evaluate.
If your New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, you have evaluated yourself and decided that you’re too fat. If you have decided to stop a bad habit, you have evaluated yourself and determined that habit is not good for you. If you have decided to make more time for your family, then you made an evaluation that you have not given your family the time they deserve.
We all do it. We evaluate. We compare our lives to what we think is the standard and we determined where we are on that scale. Based on that evaluation, we determined what things were going to change in our lives in order to make things better. This isn’t a bad thing. 2 Corinthians 13:5 literally says to test yourself. Evaluate yourself. It’s a good thing.
But, it can be really bad if you are using the wrong scale for comparison.
Stand in a checkout line for about a minute and you will see what most people’s comparison tables look like. If you look like this, you will be happy. If you act like that, you will be happy. If you do this, all of the pieces of your life are going to come together. And if you will follow these five simple steps, you will never have a problem in your marriage. I mean. the stars do it, so naturally it will work for you, right?
The world wants you to compare yourself, to evaluate yourself, by their standards. The problem is that the world’s standards are not only the wrong standards to compare to, they are rarely ever reachable. You can spend your entire life chasing after a standard that you have no hope of reaching. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world…” Don’t look at the world’s model for success and fall for the lie that it is what you need to be successful as well. It is true we all need to be healthy since we are God’s Temple. It is true we need to have strong marriages since unity in the home means strength in the foundation. But the world’s standards aren’t God’s standards. The reason is simple: the world’s outcome is conformity, but God’s is life.
In the end, there is only one standard that will ever matter: God’s standard.
So how do you evaluate yourself based on God standard? First and foremost, it takes a relationship with him. That doesn’t just mean saying you are a Christian, but actively, on a daily basis, interacting with Jesus through prayer and reading of his word. It means building relationships within a local church community. It means establishing friendships with people who are living their lives to please God, not the world. The truth is, when you’re looking for a godly standard, it’s not hard to spot.
My wife and I went with my father-in-law to see the new Hobbit movie. In the movie, a dwarf tells the Hobbit that he needs to find this specific gem. He doesn’t know really what it looks like, but he says, “When you see it you’ll know it.” The Hobbit found that stone. It was bright white, and sparkled among all of the other gold, gems, and jewels. If you saw the movie, you know that it is impossible that the Hobbit it could’ve missed that stone. It clearly stood out among the crowd.
That is what you’ll notice about a godly standard. A person who is living to honor that standard stands out above the crowd. It’s not that they think they’re better than everyone else, or act anyway like that, but you know there’s something different about them. They’re happy, they’re joyful, and even when life throws a curve ball, they know exactly how to swing. This isn’t because they are just lucky. They have dedicated their lives to living according to God’s standard. That standard, is found through prayer, reading his word, interacting in a church community, etc. It is found through covenant relationship with God and man. This type of person is constantly evaluating themselves against God’s standard to make sure that they are living a life that is honorable, holy, and pleases God.
The most beautiful thing about evaluating yourself according to God’s standard, not the world’s standard, is that as a child of God, and by the Holy Spirit, you can actually live a life that honors God. You can actually reach those expectations. You can’t do that by the world’s standard because you will never be satisfied. You’ll always want more, you’ll always wish you had something else. You were never meant to be satisfied by the things of the world. You were meant to be satisfied by Jesus Christ through a relationship with him. It is an amazing thing to know you are honoring God by how you live. And with a relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, you can do it!
So this new year, as you decide on what your specific resolution is going to be, be sure that when you look back at 2013, you aren’t comparing yourself to what the world says you should be, but you’re comparing yourself to what God says you should be. Don’t expect to live 2014 the way God intends you to if you are focusing on what the world says is successful. It will be a disappointing year!
But, if you purpose to seek God with everything in 2014, if you commit to intensifying your prayer life, going deeper in God’s word, and rather than just attend on Sunday mornings, you choose to get involved in your local church, serving, giving, growing, you’re going to experience a year like you’ve never had before. The world’s standard is enticing, it promises happiness, but it simply can’t deliver satisfaction. But God’s standard is exciting, it promises holiness, and it delivers satisfaction like you can’t even imagine.
Ask God these things this year:
1. Help me honor you by my actions, at home, at work, in church, wherever I am.
2. Help me to intensify my prayer and study times so that I can know you more.
3. Help me see and treat others how you do, filling my heart with love for them.
4. Help me as I fulfill your plan for my life.
5. Help me listen to your voice and let me have the courage to obey no matter the cost.
Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Be blessed in 2014
J