day no. 16,181: always measuring up

2 Corinthians 10:12

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

Two questions that need to be regularly asked are: "Which?" and "By what standard?" The first question teaches us to see the inescapable that God has embedded into a binary universe. We get distracted by debates oriented around whether anyone's morality should be imposed upon anyone else, when we should be presupposing that morality is inherently an imposition and asking the question "Which morality will be imposed upon whom?" instead of debating the question of "Will morality be imposed?"

The second question teaches us to see the indomitable, eternal standards of God that underlie all judgments. All judgments are an appeal to a standard. Again, the question isn't "Is there a standard?" the question is "Which standard are you using?" or shorthand "By what standard?"

Proverbs 11:1

God hates unjust measures and partial scales. Any measurement outside of His will always involved someone putting a thumb on the scales. 

Those who measure themselves by themselves find a favorable outcome -- they always measure up, as it were. Those who compare themselves only to those like themselves cannot arrive at wisdom. Only those who measure themselves against an objective standard outside of themselves have any gauge of where they're at, how they're doing, and where they're going. You cannot track or examine progress without an outside standard by which to measure distance either from or to.