Throughout history, gold has been ‘the’ unique metal of greatest value. At various times nations, both ancient and modern, have agreed to link their money supply to a valuation in gold in order to bring stability to currency and trade. Under the gold standard, for example, a dollar was valued by a set weight of gold. If another nation’s treasury accumulated dollars, they could redeem those dollars for real gold on request. That standard was abandoned by the United States in 1971, but the phrase, ‘gold standard’ survives, used symbolically of something that is trusted, beyond question.

Last week, on CNN’s Larry King ‘Live’ I watched Billy Graham give an hour long testimony to God’s goodness. What a contrast to the hypocrisy, greed, and fakery that too often mars the celebrity preachers. His hair is snow-white and his voice quavery with age. He spoke of 60 years of service to the Lord and his intimate contact with world leaders with no sense of pride, other than to rejoice in the gifts of God that had been given to a “North Carolina farm boy,” as he characterized himself. When King inquired how he felt about being a man that had preached to more people than almost any other person in history, about how he felt about making list after list of the top 10 influential American, Graham again pointed to the goodness of God. Though I am sure that there are political issues of great concern to Graham, he refused King’s urging to make statements about the war in Iraq, the American court system, or the President’s agenda. “That’s not what God sent me to do,” he insisted with clarity of purpose and mission.

In my opinion, Billy Graham is the living gold standard for Evangelical Christians! I want my life to have that kind of quality, don’t you? I want my words and actions to have the ring of authenticity. (Another allusion to money – from the time when a real silver coin had a recognizable ‘ring’ if dropped on a hard surface that authenticated it from a coin that was mostly made of base metal!)

So how can we become that kind of Believer?

Perfectionism doesn’t work. We can ‘try harder’ and fail. We can punish ourselves, get accountability partners, write long lists of rules for our behavior – and fall far short of ‘real.’ That’s not so say that restraint of our appetites, having friends who hold us to our word, or even written standards are wrong. Those are great tools, but they cannot defeat the power of sin which is rooted deep in each one of us. That requires spiritual transformation.

John Ortberg (The Life You’ve Always Wanted) writes that we need to understand the difference between ‘training and trying.’ The Spirit of God breaks the power of sin in us, and our choice to engage in practices that open up our lives to the Holy Spirit’s in-flow (spiritual disciplines), trains us to respond to temptation in ways that honor our first-line commitment to Jesus Christ. Let me quote Ortberg – “We may aggressively pursue spiritual transformation, but we cannot turn it on and off. We can open ourselves to transformation through certain practices, but we cannot engineer it. We can take no credit for it. It is profitable to see this. This truth saves us from pride and mis-directed efforts. Fist-clenching, teeth-gritting exertion is usually not very productive… indeed a feeling of strain indicates we are off-course.”

Meditate on this word from the Word and ask the Lord to make plain to your mind the interplay of His power and your choices so that you are neither passive, nor overly self-determined.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:11-14 NIV

Pray that God will draw the base metals of self and sin from your life, leaving you like pure gold, able to consistently live in a way that honors Him before the world.

Soli Deo Gloria! (For God’s Glory alone.)
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This Friday, June 24, Graham will begin a series of meeting in New York City, perhaps his last big outreach to a major American city. Pray that the Spirit will use this good man, blessing his integrity, and giving his words the ability to pierce the darkness that envelopes many lives. Thank you.