The Parable of the Maple Syrup
The maple syrup I put on my pancakes for breakfast says it's "Grade A Very Dark Color, strong taste". Also on the label is a sticker that says "Previously Grade B". In maple syrup scores, just like at school, Grade A is a higher score than Grade B is is a better quality syrup.
This label got me thinking. Did they change the syrup, and the company now sells a higher quality, or did they change the scale, and the same syrup is now given a higher score? Is something that was previously thought to be so-so now thought to be good?
That sounds a lot like relaxing standards.
Often we have a standard (not watching PG-13 movies, for example), and we hold to it, until we come across a "special circumstance". "This movie isn't that bad, it shouldn't really be rated PG-13" "It's a film adaptation of my favorite book, and the book doesn't have bad things in it, so the movie will be OK too" "The movie rating system is all messed up. A few years ago this would have been a PG movie, so it's fine."
Whatever the standard, and whatever the "special circumstances", the pattern is the same. Once we start to relax a little bit, it's really simple to relax more and more, and eventually, if we don't catch it, the standard will be dropped altogether.
On the path to Eternal Life, we are constantly making course corrections. Some of these include evaluating where we stand, what our values are, and whether we are actually following them.
Thankfully, with the Holy Ghost as our compass and Jesus Christ at the helm, our ship will arrive safe to port. We just have to decide to listen to them.
This label got me thinking. Did they change the syrup, and the company now sells a higher quality, or did they change the scale, and the same syrup is now given a higher score? Is something that was previously thought to be so-so now thought to be good?
That sounds a lot like relaxing standards.
Often we have a standard (not watching PG-13 movies, for example), and we hold to it, until we come across a "special circumstance". "This movie isn't that bad, it shouldn't really be rated PG-13" "It's a film adaptation of my favorite book, and the book doesn't have bad things in it, so the movie will be OK too" "The movie rating system is all messed up. A few years ago this would have been a PG movie, so it's fine."
Whatever the standard, and whatever the "special circumstances", the pattern is the same. Once we start to relax a little bit, it's really simple to relax more and more, and eventually, if we don't catch it, the standard will be dropped altogether.
On the path to Eternal Life, we are constantly making course corrections. Some of these include evaluating where we stand, what our values are, and whether we are actually following them.
Thankfully, with the Holy Ghost as our compass and Jesus Christ at the helm, our ship will arrive safe to port. We just have to decide to listen to them.
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