Live by Christ’s Standards

Seek to stay the course on living by Christ’s standards, and add nothing that will subtract from Him.

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Philippians 3:16, ” However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. “

Background

As the 20th century concluded and a new millennium began, Major League Baseball found itself in the midst of some trying times. Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) had descended upon the league, and use of the illegal substance was suspected to be widespread. The offensive statistics that were being produced by some of the players far surpassed anything that had ever been seen before, and records were being set and broken seemingly every day. Eventually, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-op (BALCO) scandal became public knowledge, and the Mitchell Report was released, naming dozens of current and former players who had cheated by using PEDs obtained from or through BALCO. But the amazing part of the story was not that these multi-millionaires had cheated their way to glory. Huge bank accounts do not insulate the privileged from wanting even more. What did amaze me, though, was that so many of those using the drugs were already Major League stars. Players such as Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, Lenny Dykstra, Gary Sheffield, and many others had reached a level of success unmatched by almost everyone who had played the game. But for some reason, that did not suffice.

Application

I hope your life as a Christian can be described as a relationship with your Savior. I hope it is living and growing and full of revelation and challenge. But wherever it is, I further hope that your heart doesn’t begin to wander beyond the point where God has you and seek to dabble in things that seem to offer icing for your cake. I hope that the external lure doesn’t overpower the internal position that Christ has established within you. I hope that recognition or reward do not become part of your motivation, and I hope that what you attain or strive to attain is only what increases the fame and glory of God. And if so, there is nothing that can enhance that.

Charge

As we seek Him today, seek to stay the course on living by Christ’s standards, and add nothing that will subtract from Him.

Author — Rich Holt | BCWorldview.org

Salvation — Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words