Surveyors use a benchmark to determine clear boundaries. A benchmark is a point of reference from which everything else is measured. It’s a point that’s unchanging and immovable, because a benchmark that changes will skew all the other measurements.
Whether we realize it or not, all of us operate from some sort of benchmark. We all have something we use as a point of reference to determine whether something is right or wrong, good or bad. Maybe it’s something we were taught. Maybe it’s someone we admire. Maybe it comes from some experience we’ve had. Whatever it is, it becomes our measuring stick for life.
Once you identify your benchmark, the question then becomes: “Is my benchmark really reliable?”
To take this to another level…
Check out what Scripture has to say about this in Psalm 1. There we’re told the instruction of God is to be our benchmark or point of reference. Why? Because unlike culture, philosophies, and opinions, the instruction of God doesn’t shift and move. It’s a stable point of reference.
Take some time to consider your benchmark. What is it? How did you get it? How stable is it…really?
Copyright © 2014 Bret Legg