The Standard

Long ago people started measuring things. For example, a cubit was the distance between your fingertips and your elbow. A foot was, well, the length of a foot. The only problem was that the measurement would vary, depending on the person. Someone along the way decided that it would be a good idea to standardize all weights and measures.

In a similar way, through the ages people have come up with rules and codes for life, starting with the Hamurabi Code, the first written laws in history. Why was this necessary? If there were no standard, then what was right or wrong would depend on individual interpretations. The result would be that everyone would find a way to turn everything to justify his or her actions without any consideration that it might be bad for society.

We still have an accurate system of weights and measures. In fact, with our modern technology, they are probably more precise than they have ever been.

As far as our moral standards, we are all over the map. There are explanations to justify anything. As somebody wise once told me, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”

This is happening in our courts. Somehow killing people is not as significant as it used to be.

In our churches, the Bible used to be the standard. More people know more about the Da Vinci Code than what is in scriptures. The pastor of our church is being terminated. One of the reasons is that he is preaching from the Bible as if it were true. People don’t seem to accept it. Basic Christian values don’t seem to belong in many Christian churches.

I see it in our classrooms, too. The concept of making someone feel guilty of a violent act is discouraged. When I reported a child punching another in the stomach, I felt that he was let off the hook too easily and that the administration was upset at me for reporting it.

When are we going to get back to having character? Sure, there are many reasons why I can do something that is wrong. There is one reason I can do something that is right and that is because it is right. It may mean standing alone against the crowd.

But, whose standard do we use? Unfortunately, it seems we have gone back to ancient times in how we measure right and wrong. The distance between my fingertips and elbow may be different from yours, so what you consider right may be different than what I do. That is unless we agree to accept a common ground for defining what is good for society.