Somewhere along the line, each man establishes a standard he strives to live up to; one that he will measure himself against.

While not all of us may be aware, it’s undeniable we live under the relentless burden and weight of this standard. If you don’t agree, ask yourself when was the last time you felt truly accomplished or fully caught up in life? The reality is that to some extent, we all feel slightly incompetent and like we are falling further behind; overwhelmed by the expectations that seem to be piling each day.

We may better recognize it as the voice in our head that tells us we should be better and aren’t doing enough; bringing attention to the missed opportunities and mistakes we are all too familiar with. This is the standard we have accepted in our lives; it’s exhausting and it can be devastating if we don’t catch and correct it early enough.
Sadly as time passes, we can find ourselves living under the belief that the relationship with our Father is solely based on our ability to complete a series of daily tasks. Like a checklist on a fridge, we feel obligated to complete our chores each day to gain His approval and collect our allowance. We carry our growing list with the best of intentions, but more often it becomes a nagging reminder of our inability to consistently check off the boxes.

When we do fall short, the consequences can be incredibly damaging. We will hear a quietly within…“You are a Failure, not good enough, less than…”

This triggering the downward spiral; disappointment leading to discouragement, leading to disengagement.

Make no mistake, us men love lists because they are cut and dry; tasks are either complete or not complete. Completed lists give us a feeling of accomplishment; but give a man a task that he continues to fail at and eventually he just throws in the towel because the feeling of inadequacy far outweighs the desire to try and keep up. 

We can grow distant from our Father when we believe we are under performing; convincing ourselves it’s surely better to avoid then fail… and so we run and hide. Yet, we fail to take accountability for our part in tolerating theses routines and rituals we have adopted. That’s right, it is in fact us who have created these standards in our lives, not Him. Maybe its time we honestly ask ourselves why do we do the things we do? We would be wise to take a hard look at our checklist and shake loose the tasks that cause us to lose sight of one incredible truth that changes everything…
He is our Father… Our Father

He isn’t keeping a checklist, nor does he want us keeping one. If we can truly comprehend this, there will be a huge sigh of relief.
Where on earth did we come up with the notion that we need to do all these things to have a relationship with Him? It must pain Him to see us putting this enormous pressure on ourselves in an effort to connect. Like any good Father would, He pleads with us to relax and simply know, we are loved because of who we are… Not because of what we do or don’t do.
Brothers, the so-called standard we are living under is a lie and simply unobtainable. If we are going to ever let it go, the time is now. The checklist needs to be abandoned and we need to align our standard to our Father’s; which is… We are His sons

Whether we do or don’t do, We are His sons and He loves us
Let this sink in… the true standard