One of the weapons in the enemy’s arsenal to keep you from being effective in your life as a Christian is the status quo. Every year it seems that things get worse in society and most people just adapt to the new status quo. If you compare the scene at a school one hundred years ago with that of a school today, it would be shocking. Go back another hundred years and it would be unrecognizable! Even fifty years ago things were very different. The same is true at home and at work and even in the church.
“But”, you might think, “things are always changing and this is a new day in which we are living, so we have to adapt to it.” There are some things that change from year to year like fads and fashion, but there are some things that must never change — the standards that God has set for His children to live by. Just because today’s society accepts something as being the new “normal”, that does not make it normal or right!
When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He certainly overturned the status quo; He was constantly being tested and challenged by the religious establishment of His day, and eventually put to death. The least challenging route is always the status quo; don’t “rock the boat” or “make waves”. In other words, maintain the status quo and let everything continue the way it is now. What if Jesus had taken that approach, where would we be today? Without a Savior, that’s where!
After the church was born on the day of Pentecost, the early believers continued what Jesus began; overturning the status quo. Theirs was not a religion that had become just so many man-made rules and regulations, they had a living relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Even today, it is easy for your spiritual life to fall into a rut when you settle for the spiritual status quo established by those around you.
The same can be said for every area of life. Don’t do your job based on the status quo, be the best you can be at work for the glory of God even if everyone else is just getting by. At home, do not settle for being like everyone else you know, be all God created you to be and fulfill your part in your family for the glory of God.
Rather than settling for the status quo, let God set the standards for your life. Don’t look to the way things are to determine the way things should be — look to the Word of God. Then, live like God’s way is the only way (because it is!). There will be those who try to bring you down to where they are and to the way things are, but don’t settle for the status quo!