Measure once, cut twice. Measure twice, cut once. If you were brought up around woodworking or carpentry, this adage saved you many times from wasting material and making faulty cuts. The job of measuring has been so much easier since an invention that was patented on this day in 1868 – the retractable tape measure.
A prequel to the modern tape measure was invented in 1829. Made using left over wire from hoop skirts, it created a “measuring chain.” “The tape measure underwent further change in 1868 when Alvin J Fellows filed for a patent in the United States. The Fellows tape measure required some changes to the design of the Chesterman tape measure, so many changes that Fellows was able to argue that he had invented something new rather than just improving on a design. The key innovation that was added in 1868 was the spring action which allowed the tape measure to lock into place and allowed it to retract when the spring was released by a button. This would be the first appearance of the tape measure as we know it.”1
A “tape” measure of sorts has been around long before 1829 or 1868. The Romans used strips of leather marked incrementally. In the Bible days, measurements were taken using objects like grains of cereal or eggs of a certain fowl. Measurements of length were related to body parts such as finger, palm, span, and the distance between the tip of the middle finger and the elbow. Israelite meauring varied over time and location. For example, one cubit equaled two spans, six palms, or 24 fingers.
I’m sure we can see the problem with this. Where is the standardization? Hands are not all the same size. Leather swells and shrinks, making their measurements fluctuate. And there had to be differences between geographical locations. The Romans may have used one standard of measurement while Asians, Chinese, Greeks, and Middle Easterners could have all used something different.
When it comes to our Christian lives, we often use fluctuating, faulty measures to assess our growth and maturity. One of those faulty measures is found in 2 Corinthians 10:12. “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” Using others to scale our growth is a poor measure.
Sometimes, we use ourselves as the measure. James 1:23-24 says, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: (24) For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” God’s Word is a perfect measuring tool. But, if we look in it, see the reflection of our nature shining back, and do nothing about it, we are establishing ourselves as the perfect measure.
We need a perfect measuring tool. It’s given to us in 1 Samuel 2:3. “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God 
of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” The Hebrew word for “weighed” means to regulate, measure, balance, make even, level, weigh, be equal.” God and His Word provide accurate measurements to our life all the time. They never fail.
Today, allow God’s Word to measure you. Make the adjustments in your life based on those measurements. Our goal is found in Ephesians 4:13. “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
1https://hausoftools.com/blogs/news/the-history-and-origin-of-the-tape-measure
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
