RAISING THE STANDARD

Many of us aspire to as high a standard as possible. We want the best of everything--schools, food products, clothing, as well as homes in the best possible neighborhoods. Few, if any, would deliberately choose anything that we consider sub-standard. We desire the best. The best may not be of the same quality as another person's best. Nonetheless, as long as we consider it "best" we are relatively contented.

God also wants for us what is best. He wants us to aspire to our personal best in every area of life, and he wants to provide the best. It would be difficult to imagine the God of the universe convincing someone that they should live in a home with a leaking roof, or that their son should attend a school that would fail to provide him with the tools necessary to compete in the world. God's best always is what is best for that person in the context of the world as he created it to be.

When the concept of best has been trampled by attitudes of national or cultural superiority, racism, religious pride and arrogance, or sexism, the best to which some aspire is significantly lower than God's best for them. Even in instances where there is little or no physical deprivation, God's spiritual best--joy and peace--are generally viewed as beyond reach. God wants to raise the standard physically and spiritually. He wants us to aspire to a "best" that is pure and unadulterated.

In regard to our physical best, God desires and expects that each person will be fully supplied in accordance with their need. He also wants us to desire and expect that everyone in our world will be fully supplied in accordance with their need. Poverty and deprivation are the devil's methodology for attempting to thwart God's purposes for us.

We need only look at nature to see that God always provides whatever is necessary to fulfill the need and the purpose. An oak tree or an olive tree has the trunk and root system commensurate with the height to which it must grow. Similarly, a banana tree has the trunk and root system commensurate with its height. However, all three began as saplings and were generously provided with rain and sunshine to enable them to reach their potential. 

When God "plants" a soul on the earth, one cannot predict the height to which it will soar or the contribution it potentially can make to our world. Just as God provides every seed and sapling with the same generous supply of rain and sunshine, so every child in our world should be provided for in a manner such as to enable achievement of their fullest potential.