…about standards and expectations
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
A lot of people, including me, seemed to have thought that God has some expectation of how well we can do any task placed before us. The truth is that He has no expectations of us being able to do ANYTHING for Him.
My particular form of perfectionism is, I think, different from most. If I fail once, I will not try again. If I think I will fail, I won’t even try the first time! Many people set a very high standard for themselves; a standard that is impossible to meet. In their minds, they accuse God of having those same expectations. We tend to forget that God not only “knows our frame,” but that He is the one who formed our frame! He knows we are made out of dirt and that we are incapable of doing His will without His help.
All that being said, God DOES have expectations of His children! Fortunately for us, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us meet those expectations.
A while back in my church’s business meeting there was quite a discussion over the word “Standards” as opposed to the word “Expectations.” I am not sure either side knew what those words mean. Furthermore, I am not sure any of them were thinking biblically.
standard | ˈstandərd | - noun
1 a level of quality or attainment:
expectation | ˌekˌspekˈtāSH(ə)n | -noun
a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future:
a belief that someone will or should achieve something
So, without a standard there is no expectation of achievement.
The real issue is, does God set standards that He expects His children to achieve? If He does, shouldn’t we use those same standards?
1Pe 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
God HAS set standards for our behavior - how we are to interact with Him and with each other. He HAS told us how HIS church is to conduct themselves while still on earth because we are His ambassadors to a dark and fallen world. Does He throw us away if we mess up or fail? NO!!!! And neither do we. However, without standards, we become very much like the people of the era of the Judges with everyone doing what was right in his own eyes. The results would be now as they were then - chaos!