Friday Fight 155: Benchmarks: Blessing or Burden?
Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF155.
If you are in education or the corporate world, the word benchmark sounds familiar and is often used to define success. In writing this post, I have recently completed the courses necessary to earn my master's degree in elementary education. Every course included a standard that compared my work for assessment purposes. If a benchmark in education is meant to reveal strengths and weaknesses, how can we apply this to our spiritual lives?
Benchmarks: Blessing or Burden?
Hearing the word benchmark in education is a common occurrence. Every course I took included a benchmark week where one assignment was heavily weighted. The goal was to compare my abilities to the areas needed to master a concept. In this particular college, benchmarks were assigned once within each six-week course. Doing poorly on this one assignment would mean my standing as a good student would be taken from me until I was asked to display my abilities again.
Not only are benchmarks used in education, but they are also used to create goals in construction and churches. I understand this measurement as an educator, but it is not always practical. When any educational curriculum is designed, it can only serve most needs, not all; therefore, it can become a barrier to some students. The critical thing to remember is that a benchmark is a standard, not an end-all. It should represent a snippet of what a person knows or how a church meets its goals, not narrowly define a person to a place that prevents their growth.
Let's look at some other examples. As a child in my father's church, some of us were asked to memorize Psalm 23, which was probably a standard for the age group I was in. I loved learning Scripture and appreciated its value. Suppose these standards are attained, but further growth is not expected until the following school year; this benchmark blessing can also act as a barrier. Or we can apply it another way. Suppose a particular church has members who predominantly speak in tongues, but some do not. Those who don't may feel they haven't reached a specific benchmark necessary for their walk with Christ, creating undue barriers in their relationship with Him or the church. Instead, Christ brings us where we must be with the help of the Holy Spirit and complete His will. Thankfully, our relationship with Him does not stand on benchmarks or how far we've come; instead, He knows our hearts and where we are going.
So, what barriers can we expect in our Christian walk? The enemy of our soul has an entirely different process for identifying us based on our sins. The weight of our shame can prevent our spiritual development. Another area that inhibits our walk is knowing the greatness of God's love, experiencing Him personally, yet remaining silent towards Him. Ephesians 4:13 speaks directly about
What benchmarks have we allowed to define our worth as Christians? Our only spiritual benchmark should be comparing ourselves to Christ, as said in Ephesians 4:13 “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Since we are all a work in progress, we can strive to meet the expectations of the standards He set. What a blessing that we were brought from the depths of death and made new, no longer the likeness of Adam with the sting of death answering, but after the likeness of Jesus Christ and the total and absolute victory He possesses.
Let's pray about this post and what benchmarks we have knowingly or unknowingly set as our comparison. Walking with others and focusing on the guidance of the Holy Spirit is the best way to develop spiritually.
Pastor Shannon
New Life Calvert