When it comes to spiritual truth, do you have some benchmarks in your life?
The first would be, I hope, saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
That’s the most important benchmark.
There ought to be benchmarks beyond that to mark your growth and maturity in Christ.
Ground yourself on some benchmarks so that you know that you know that you know what you believe.
When the tide changes, when things go crazy, when the church is under assault, when the Bible is moved from the pulpit to the back; do you have benchmarks that you go back to?
One for me is Psalm 101. I call this David’s “As for me and my house” psalm.
Are you resting on your laurels?
In ancient roman times, a laurel wreath was a sign of victory of achievement. We’ve adopted some of this language still today: baccalaureate, poet or Nobel laureate.
We all know people who “rest on [their] laurels,” and the mark of that generally sounds like “Back when I was your age” or “When I was in my career–”
Personally, I don’t want to be sitting on my laurels.
I want to grow until I die. To do that, I have to live like no one else. It requires intention to continue growing.
“Maturity is when you stop blaming your past, own your present, and plan for your future.”
Commitment to God:
Psalm 101:1-4
Chesed: covenant promise, chosen people
Commitment to Character:
Psalm 101:2-5
Have you recounted God’s lovingkindness and justice in your life?
That’s a list we don’t tend to make, but perhaps we ought to.
The choice and demonstration of integrity, the blameless way.
Commitment to trusted community:
Psalm 101:6-8
Who do you surround yourself with?
Observations about Leadership
- Our commitment to Christ is critical.
- Character is everything.
- We all need trustworthy people around us. He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.
- Are you / am I, any more like Christ than we were when we came to faith in Christ much less, last year?