“If an animal does something, we call it instinct; if we do the same thing for the same reason, we call it intelligence.”
-Will Cuppy, journalist (1884-1949)

Double standards? Certainly there are the world’s standards and those of God and thankfully they are quite different. But when I sit and watch my neighbor, my brother, even myself, do I set up separate standards that fit me, that fit the situation? In my business practice, do I treat clients different based on how fast they pay me, or how easy they are to work with? Are my friends ranked by where they live, if they have dogs like I do, or what sports they like?

Discernment. Priorities. Time. Money. Preference. Ability. Likes. Dislikes. Blah. Blah. Blah.

There are endless categories into which I am constantly and often unconsciously sorting things. May His Spirit and Word always guide me when I need to sort things out, and may my standards of measure be His. With grace and mercy, may I hold all things up to His light, and not my own, that they may shine as He intended them and not as I see them.

“Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear– hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
— Jude 22,23 (NIV)