Cutting off the ladder

As I went through my professional training, I was often struck by the tendency to see one's place on the ladder of professional development as the standard of competence, yet to cut off the rungs immediately beneath saying that those below did not belong or were not welcome in the field of neuropsychology. As someone from a less than optimal background (counseling, rather than clinical, psychology), I merely hoped for a chance to demonstrate my ability, rather than be judged by what I too often presumed to be my second-rate credentials. Once I "made the grade," I discovered in myself a tendency to treat others as second rate if they did not come up to my standard based on some pseudo-arbitrary identifier, even if they had met what our field deemed a standard of competence.

What is even more profound is that we also do this as "Christians", don't we? We hope to make the grade and then once we assume that we have, we cut off the ladder beneath us from those who do not meet our standard. You know who I am talking about--the girl in church who you know sleeps around, that guy at work who pushes off his work on anyone he can, that gay kid at the coffee shop--we all have someone who doesn't make our grade.

But what about God's standard? According to Romans 3:23, every person fails to meet His standard and God has every right to cut us off from Him, but instead, He sent His son Jesus Christ to reach down His hand to anyone who wants help in the climb (Romans 6:23).

As you climb, remember the folly of cutting off the rung beneath you because we all fall short of the standard. Instead, spend your effort on helping people up the ladder into the arms of Christ.

John 1:12-"But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name; He gave the right to become children of God!"