Measuring themselves by themselves

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. – 2 Corinthians 10v12

There is one sure fire way to measure up – set your standards low. The criticism levelled against Paul was that he did not measure up the standards and expectations of some of the leaders in Corinth. Paul would not fall into their trap – their only standard was each other. When you measure yourself by your own standards and compare yourself to other men you are sure to look good.

There are many today who have fallen into the same trap. Going far beyond the word of God men create their own standards, the count themselves spiritual when they meet those standards. Those who don’t meet some specific list of standards a counted as either not saved or not spiritual. Those who do match up are considered spiritual giants. Whole movements have sprung up around this kind of thinking. What some are portraying as godly is actually no more than men setting human standards then congratulating themselves for measuring up to them.

What is Paul’s response? “Those who do this kind of thing are not wise.” When we see it in this light the whole idea really seems silly. Anybody can obey a list of rules. You can go to bed at night happy that you have ticked all the boxes and everyone praises you for how spiritual you are.

But what happens when you raise the bar? What happens when we start comparing ourselves to God? What happens when we don’t measure spirituality by our standards, but His?