Standard
The past few months I have been planning my daughter’s wedding. She is our only child, so of course we hoped to meet all her dreams for her “fairy tale wedding.” As we began to research venues, caterers, wedding dresses, wedding themes, a fleeting thought passed through my mind—“you might consider hiring a wedding planner.” I quickly squashed that thought with this thought: “I have Pinterest, a silhouette machine, and a teacher discount at the local hobby store.”
It’s all fun and games…until it’s not.
I spent obnoxious amounts of hours on Pinterest looking for all the best ideas for weddings. I became addicted, like an addict looking for its next wedding idea fix. Before I knew it, we had 40 lbs of Spanish moss, glue guns, and wooden centerpieces. I realized I was trying to plan this wedding to a Pinterest standard that was not healthy or fun.
Unfortunately, I realized this type of behavior was also showing up in other parts of my life of following, choosing, and creating crazy standards. One area is in how I see myself. I impose unrealistic standards when I see my reflection in the mirror such as, “I’m not tall enough, skinny enough, smart enough, good enough, or successful enough.” Often this creates an unhealthy inner dialogue that tries to set roots of hopelessness or anxiety.
God’s Standard
God’s standard is not yours or mine—it is better…far better. His standards remind us of how much He loves and values us. When all I see in my reflection is how I don’t’ meet the world’s standards of beauty, He reminds me that I am His bride. I am what every groom sees as his bride enters the church—special…beautiful…perfect.
Song of Solomon 2:10 says, “My beloved spoke and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me.’”
I know this is an issue with so many. Even Paul addressed it in the early church when he said,
“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” (Romans 12:2).
Paul understood that we have to change our standards to God’s standards. So how do we transform? First, with prayer—lots of it. Every time those negative words begin forming inner dialogues, we have to combat it with scripture and reminders of God’s words. Second, stop comparing yourself to others. Others do not set the standard for you to live by. Only God has that privilege. Third, (I know I say this in almost every post), speak life to yourself and others. If you hear someone say something negative about himself or herself, be a gentle reminder of who they are in Christ.
As you sow words of life, words of life will be sown back to you—that is the currency trade of God.
His standard is good!
