Discerning?

The row over the so called prank phone calls by Messrs Ross and Brand, continues to reverberate as I write. It's interesting to watch as the media struggles to tackle the issue. In my own mind I'm sure they have done wrong and that the broadcast should never have been allowed to be aired which shows that others in the BBC have done wrong too.

When compared to so much of what passes for entertainment today, their breach of good taste seems less of a crime. Therein lies the problem. We have been conditioned to take a relative view by the self same media that is now in full hue and cry over the issue of standards of decency on the media. Compared to X's behaviour then Y's looks tame goes the thinking. The problem is that when there are no absolutes, no benchmarks, then deciding how bad something is is a matter of subjective opinion.

My job involves working with machines that run at high speeds, and that rely on things being adjusted to very fine tolerances, so that things line up with each other. To make life simple these machines have datum points, bench marks that show you where things were when the machine was first built and running effectively.

If you you choose to ignore these datum points when setting up the machine then you risk either damaging the machine, or running it in a way that produces sub-standard results. Yet despite this, it's not unusual too see inexperienced engineers trying to take short cuts and subjectively setting things up by eye. Invariably the machine or it's output suffers and eventually someone will order the work redone, properly.

As human beings we need datum points, we need standards that are not simply subjective or we risk living damaged lives that are less than what they could be. God has given us His datum point, His living benchmark - Jesus. When we choose to ignore God's benchmark and take the lazy subjective route we end up in a mess.

Bethlehem Live, tells the story of the arrival of God's benchmark. It's a wonderful true story, one that still makes the papers each Christmas, a story that will continue to run long after Messers Brand and Ross and their bad behaviour have been forgotten.

Please take a few minutes to pray and ask God to use Bethlehem Live to speak to people of His love, and how we can live better more fulfilling lives by aligning out hearts with Jesus as the perfect datum point for mankind. We should also pray that those in the limelight, and behind the scenes in the media, know His love and forgiveness too...plainly they (like me) need it!