Latest Devotion
Stop Lowering The Rim
By: Keefe Wilson
Friday, October 30, 2026
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
As a boy, I loved to play basketball! One of my favorite NBA players was Julius Erving ("Dr. J") of the Philadelphia 76ers. He could dunk with ease, and we all wanted to be just like him! Every day we practiced our jumping, trying to touch a ten-foot rim. We jumped and jumped, but no matter how hard we tried, none of us could dunk!
One day, a friend of ours, who was about twelve came running over and shouted, “I can dunk now!” We couldn't believe it, so we rushed to his house to see for ourselves. Sure enough, he grabbed the basketball, jumped, and slammed it through the hoop! We were all amazed! Then we tried, and every one of us could dunk too! But there was one problem: We noticed he had lowered the rim about a foot! We only thought we'd improved... The truth was, we hadn't gotten better, we'd only lowered the standard!
Christ Followers sometimes do the same thing. Instead of rising to meet God's standards, we lower them to fit our opinions. When Romans 12:2 says, “don't conform to this world" it's telling us to stop lowering the rim! When we lower the rim, we are compromising our convictions. We can't excuse sin because everyone else is doing it, and we can't choose convenience over obedience. Satan loves it when we try to convince ourselves we're growing spiritually when we're really not, and when we ignore God's Word and behave like the world does.
What would compromise look like? When we tell our children to follow Jesus, but they rarely see us praying, reading God's Word, or living out our faith. We lower the rim when we excuse sinful behavior in us or in our children. Remember, children learn more from the standards we live by than the standards we just talk about.
In our marriages, we lower the rim when our pride keeps us from apologizing, when selfishness replaces sacrifice, and when unforgiveness replaces grace. We make vows to love, honor, and respect one another, yet sometimes we treat strangers better than our spouses! Our homes and our attitudes must reflect God's standards, not the world's.
When my friends and I were dunking on that backyard goal, we felt like Dr. J! But we hadn't jumped any higher or gotten stronger—we had only lowered the rim! God wants us to know the same danger exists for Christ followers.
We must STOP lowering the rim! God's standards are unchangeable, and they can't be lowered to fit our lifestyles.