Sometimes I wonder what it really means to attain a higher standard of living. I think most of us when we hear the phrase immediately think of a nice neighborhood with strict rules that keep the lawns well manicured (we live in one of those neighborhoods and often I find myself rather irritated with all those rules!). Perahps a higher standard of living means you drive a new car every few years, vacation regularly and keep your closet stocked with the latest fashions. Yes, I believe that’s probably how the world would define it…the developed world, at least.
But how does God define it? What is His idea of a higher standard of living?
Romans 6:17-18 got me thinking about this. It also has me feeling so incredibly grateful that the Lord opened my eyes to a new standard. More than that, God changed my heart and honestly, the implications have been profound. Here’s the verse:
“But, thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”
I love the phrase, “have become obedient from the heart.” Our heart’s desire, you might say, is to be obedient to Christ’s teachings; we seek to honor, serve and glorify the Lord with our actions, our words…even our thoughts. We hope to hear and heed the instructions from our advocate, the Holy Spirit…and the fruits of the Spirit are nothing short of amazing. Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us:
“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law.”
I think perhaps this is the new standard given us by Christ – by which we can measure our lives. The state of our emotions and the quality of our relationships as Christians can and should be measured by these fruits. In this way, we can know when we are with Christ and when we might be just a tad off course.
When we are feeling anger instead of love; anxious rather than peaceful; spiteful rather than kind…we should probably considered if we have wavered; if we’ve let our standards fall beneath Christ’s high calling. And, when inevitably we find that we have, that’s exactly the time to cry out to the Lord to bring us back into line with Him.
Let me tell you, I do this OFTEN! Thank goodness the Lord never gets tired of pulling us back up.
Humbly, prayerfully and with hope and trust in the Lord, we can pray and ask the Lord to be our strength in this world and to bring us back to His higher standard of living.