In the height of his playing days, Charles Barkley claimed that he was not a role model. The University of Colorado claimed that the troubles with its football program were not as bad as they seemed. Coach Nueheisel claimed that his gambling was no big deal. The people involved in these situations did not want to be held to a higher standard. Why? Because they felt that athletics and off-the-field issues should be kept separate.

In many ways, that may be true. However, as athletes, we need to remember that we are who we are. People don’t view Alex Rodriguez as just another guy who lives in New York; they see him as a future Hall of Famer who plays third base for the Yankees. As an athlete at any level, we are held to a higher standard. How we react to the spotlight demonstrates to others who we truly are.

Likewise, as believers in Christ, we are held to a higher standard, and we should strive to live up to that standard every day. Too many Christians compare themselves to others and just get by in their faith. But that is not God’s standard for us. Our plan may be to slide by, but His plan for us is perfection. In 1 Peter 1:15, we learn that we need to be holy in all we do, just as God is holy. Our goal should be to be like Him. He set the standard, and we are called to follow it.

Some athletes and coaches today are setting standards of great worth and measure. Others are setting standards that are only worthy of the tabloids. But there is only one true standard by which we all will be measured one day—God’s higher standard! So set your sights upward, plant your feet on the straight and narrow path, and make your actions worthy of Christ. If you strive for this standard, everything you do will be worth it all.