Set Your Standards High

I have very few toys in my possession from when I was a child. I had plenty of them when I was a child, even though when I was a child I always wanted more.

Years ago when I had young children of my own to raise and only one income in the household, I had to give up my childhood toys by selling them on Ebay to provide for my family’s needs. I sold my full size talking G. I. Joe, my Billy Blastoff toys, Action Jackson, the Doctari set and of course my prized Bonanza set complete with Pa, Hoss and Little Joe as well as their horses.

Though I let go of nearly all of my toys, there was one I could not sell. He wasn’t popular or valuable, but there was something special about him. At the time I don’t think I realized the real reason I wouldn’t let him go. Now I have realized that I couldn’t let him go because he symbolized an ideal that I have always tried to emulate in my life.

The toy was a knight called Sir Stuart. Initially I was drawn to him because my middle name is Stuart, but I think there was something more as well.

I was also always attracted as a child to the heroes on TV. I grew up during the golden age of television. The good guys were good in every way and the bad guys were really bad.

Whether for good of for bad my parents sat me in front of the TV a lot as a child. The heroes of my childhood were the Lone Ranger, Zorro and Robin Hood. My favorite actors were John Wayne and Errol Flynn.

As a child I knew nothing of the actor’s real life, only the characters they portrayed. Back then, the hero was always someone who stood against corruption and fought for what was right.

As I grew, I was less than perfect in my actions as a teenager and a young adult, but this ideal persisted in my mind, even if it wasn’t always demonstrated in my life.

I remember one time, several friends wanted me to join their Dungeons and Dragons role playing game for a while. I did for a few months but it really wasn’t my cup of tea.

While playing with them, I had to choose a character to role play. You could choose to be an elf, a dwarf or a wizard or any number of things. None of them really interested me. Then someone came up with the option of a Paladin Knight.

That was perfect. The Paladin in the game was a champion of Justice and a destroyer of evil. During the middle ages a Paladin knight wasn’t just a knight, but a knight known for his noble and honorable behavior as well as his heroic deeds.

This idea of living an honorable, noble, chivalrous life can be no better explained than in the song, The Impossible Dream from the play Man of La Mancha. I first heard it when Jim Nabors became popular singing it. This song has stuck with me all my life.

The words reflect the spirit of chivalry.

To dream the impossible dream, To fight the unbeatable foe, To bear with unbearable sorrow, To run where the brave dare not go.

To right the unrightable wrong, To love pure and chaste from afar, To try when your arms are too weary, To reach the unreachable star.

This is my quest To follow that star No matter how hopeless, No matter how far.

To fight for the right Without question or pause To be willing to march Into hell for a heavenly cause.

And I know if I'll only be true To this glorious quest That my heart will be peaceful and calm When I'm laid to my rest.

And the world will be better for this, That one man scorned and covered with scars Still strove with his last ounce of courage. To fight the unbeatable foe. To reach the unreachable star.

This idea of living a good and honorable life, of sacrificing yourself for others and living for a higher purpose is found throughout the Bible.

1 Peter 1:16

because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Philippians 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Philippians 3:13-14

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

Of course living this type of life is not very easy. We live in a world that seems to be falling apart.

Every politician, no matter what party, seems to be corrupt at some level. News channels seem to report only the worst stories because it either fits their agenda or it helps their ratings.

People seem more divided than ever. Emotions are running high. People don’t really seem to care about what is right as much as what is to their advantage.

It takes a lot of patience to live in the world as it is today. You have to remind yourself that your reaction to what is happening around you is in your control.

The Bible teaches, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Romans 12:18

Our behavior and reaction to others is up to us. From time to time, we are going to be confronted by those who are emotionally unreasonable or confrontational. It is up to us not to return insult with insult.

Romans 12 gives a beautiful description of what noble and honorable behavior looks like.

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” (Romans 12:9-16)

This kind of life is not an easy life. You will be used. You will be cheated. You will fail from time to time to live up to this kind of standard. But God will reward you in other ways.

Living this life can leave you with a clean conscience and like the Apostle Paul when he was reaching the end of his life you can say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

One of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me was by a person who recently was dealing with someone difficult and said she thought ‘what would Jeff do’, because she had seen me shrug off the same treatment by the same person. My only hope is that when others see what I do that they see ‘what would Jesus do’ in my life. That is what it means to live a fulfilled and abundant life.

Just imagine what this world could be like if we could all learn to set our standards high.

Have a wonderful and blessed day.