One Saturday afternoon after soulwinning, my family and I were making our way from our car into McDonalds. As we approached the front doors, another family was leaving. The dad stopped and curiously asked if we were Christians. I gladly told him yes and spent a moment talking to him about the Lord.

As our family entered the restaurant, my wife and I looked at each other and were once again reminded of the importance of being distinct. As I have studied the commands of Scripture, one of God’s expectations for us clearly stands out in 2 Corinthians 6:17–18, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

Sadly, though, I see a pattern among some Christians. They measure their separation from the world by distance and not by distinction. They fall into the trap of thinking, “Well, at least I’m not as bad as_________.” However, when Christians compare themselves to the world today and use that comparison to prove their separation from the world, they lack truth. For when we all give an account of our life to God, we will not be measured by the world but rather by the Word of God.

God’s measuring stick tends to vary from the one we create in our minds. And in order to rightly give an account to God, we need to start by opening His Word and looking into how He views our lifestyle, our habits, and our thoughts. Once we align our pattern of living by the pattern of truth, we will be using God’s measuring stick for Christianity—the simple guide of living a Christian life.

How is your life measuring up? Are you consistently putting spiritual checkpoints in your schedule to ensure you’re on the right path? Do you fight the urge to compare yourself to those who reject Christ—lifting yourself up in your eyes as a decent Christian?