Have you ever had to adjust your bathroom scales or car speedometer? In the digital age, such adjustments are often either unneeded or difficult to make but remain important. Some friends of ours own a company specializing in inspecting commercial scales to be certain they weigh correctly. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has an entire division devoted to guaranteeing the accuracy of weights and measures to be sure we’re really getting a full pound of steak when we pay for one.
Because of constant use, temperature variations, bumps, and abuse, many measuring devices need to be checked regularly and often recalibrated both for the benefit of the customer as well as the merchant. Variations may be very small but when compounded over many transactions, the total value can mushroom quickly.
So too our moral values need to be recalibrated from time to time. Because we are constantly receiving information, processing events, and rendering opinions, our standards of right and wrong need to be checked periodically and restored to proper alignment. In today’s contentious environment, many pressures bombard our souls with competing principles that often vary widely from each other.
This reality makes it necessary for each of us to recalibrate our heart, soul, and mind on a daily basis. This is best accomplished by reading God’s Word and through prayer conversations with the Father. Generally, the more regularly we do these, the less radical adjustments need to be, but even then, there are times when God must make major modifications to our operating system.
Jesus Himself was constantly recalibrating the value systems of those around Him. Even in a society mostly governed by godly Old Testament moral principles, He had to consistently turn the knobs of human understanding. When Martha feverishly worked to prepare a meal, Jesus affirmed Mary’s approach of just sitting in His presence to enjoy His company and absorb His wisdom.
When His own disciples prevented children from coming to Him because they considered them inferior to adults, Jesus recalibrated their thought patterns by demanding that they be brought to Him for blessing as He highlighted the spiritual depth they possess and provide. In another instance, He reversed the scales completely when He proclaimed that the first shall be last and last first. Such a shift required radical readjustment of the prevailing world order and, by the way, it still does.
The Gospel writers also tell us how they themselves jockeyed for position in Jesus’ Kingdom, angling for the best seats of power. In response, Jesus took out His wrench and reversed the idea of greatness by elevating humility. Time and again, the Maker of the universe endeavored to restore His creation to its original default settings that were knocked entirely out of whack by the very first humans. We could consider Jesus’ visit to earth as one massive mission to reset the values of those made in His image.
Although Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, His Holy Spirit continues to work in the hearts of His followers on earth. This third person of the Trinity can and does continue Jesus’ work of recalibrating persons who submit to His adjustments. We can resist His work in our lives but if we are in His Word regularly, we eventually must choose between obeying or rejecting Him.
The great preacher John Wesley once said, “Take care that [those in your family] have time daily for reading, meditation, and prayer. Neither should any day pass without family prayer, seriously performed. You should particularly endeavor to instruct your children early, plainly, frequently, patiently.”
The heart of every human being on earth needs to be constantly recalibrated and the Spirit eagerly desires to do so through our prayers and God’s Word. As we consider how out of adjustment our thoughts and values often are, let us invite and submit to His recalibration in our lives each day. Blessings, George