At the start of the lesson, Augustus gave us (my class) a set of rules to follow:

#1: Everyone with black hair has to stand up

#2: Those who are not using metal bible-covers have to read their bibles upside down

#3: Whenever he claps his hands. We must say “Auggie is great”

And of course we all guai guai obeyed the first two rules (after complaining, of course) but Auggie had to clap his hands and ask us to follow the third rule a few times before we all responded. (I wonder why xD) We asked Auggie why he didn’t have to follow any of his own rules and why he got to set the standard for our behaviour in class. “Because I’m the teacher”.

So why does the teacher get to set the standard? Let’s put this situation in a normal classroom setting in a secondary/ tertiary/ higher level institution.

Reason #1: In most classrooms, there is a notable age gap between the students and the teacher. The teacher is older- which means the teacher would have more experience, more knowledge, more maturity etc. than the students.

Reason #2: The teacher is in a position of authority. The teacher’s status in the school is higher of that than the students. (Which is why, most of the time, the teachers get to cut queues in the canteen) The teacher has the authority to teach, correct and discipline the students, give them homework, etc. because of their position of authority.

Reason #3: The teacher knows what’s best. The teacher has knowledge that far exceeds that of the students- because the subject they are teaching is their area of expertise. Thus, the teacher would be able to identify the mistakes the students make and correct them, and point out areas that need improvement because they want to do what is best for us in the long run and they want us to do well. The teacher sets the standard because the teacher knows what’s best for us.

Summing up the reasons: The teacher gets to set the standard because the teacher is older, wiser, more experienced, more mature; is in a position of authority over us, and knows what’s best for us.

Putting all these reasons in relation to our theme:

Why does God get to set the standard?

Reason #1: God is much, much, much, older than the oldest human being on this earth. Remember that God created the earth and all that it is in it. It’s hard to fathom how many years back it is- just counting the ages of Abaraham and Noah and their descendants already makes thousands of years! And God already existed before He created the earth. The earlier part of Revelation 21:6 ‘He (God) said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” ’ God has experience, wisdom, knowledge of hundreds of thousands of years! How can we even think we can compare to that?

Reason #2: God is the highest authority. Check out Isaiah 40:25-26 and Romans 13:1-2.

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy one. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:25-26

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement upon themselves. Romans 13:1-2

Reason #3: God knows what’s best for us. God created us; therefore he knows what’s best for us. This is linked to the example in our binded books on pg15: the story of a man who had trouble with the engine of his Model-T Ford, and after Henry Ford tinkered with the engine for a few moments, the car started up easily again.

No one understands something better than the one that created it. In the same way, God understands us and knows what’s best for us. Look at Isaiah 45:9-10. “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say ‘He has no hands?’ Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’ So why does God get to set the standard? Because He created us and He knows what’s best for His creation.

The last reason (which is kinda not related to the classroom thing) is because God…is God. There is no one holier, there is no other God. If God is supreme, there cannot be any other God, because a supreme God has no equals. God is set apart from us because of His power and majesty and Holiness and because He never changes, no matter the circumstance. Standards change- in this modern day world, there are hardly any shades of black and white- the gray ‘in between’ is getting larger all the time.

We cannot deny God. Sure, we can say that we believe in God, therefore we’re Christians. But if we don’t try our best to obey God, we can’t consider ourselves as Christians, can we? Even Satan believes in God. Does that mean Satan is a Christian? No. Those who deny God will not be spared from the fire of judgement. Remember the story of the man who was sent to hell and pleaded with Jesus to let him to back to earth to warn his relatives and friends? Jesus told the man that if they did not believe Jesus Himself, why would they believe him?

No matter how we try to deny it, God is there. He is Holy and supreme and there is none other like Him. Therefore, GOD SETS THE STANDARD BECAUSE HE IS GOD.

Yay ;) I’m done with the post. And on a last note, don’t forget to pray for:

1) those with O level postings coming out soon

2) those with competitions (i.e. SYF and tennis)

3) those with tests coming up and lastly

4) for the expansion and growth of our youth ministry

That’s all for now :D Bye ;)