Standards vs. Preferences

I've come to a certain realization recently. Standards and preferences are two different concepts, but are connected through somewhat relative means. I shall explain. Throughout Scripture, it seems that standards are absolute. Now hear me out. I'm not talking about "standards" like courtship, long dresses, no back beat, and the like; rather, I'm referring to the core standards. For courtship, one of the core standards is purity; for long dresses, the core standard is modesty; for no back beat, the standards are holiness and separation from the world. The standard is not how something is performed, but the driving principle behind the action. And I'm not writing about convictions. Convictions are something for which people die. As much as I am against rock-style music, I'm not going to die for that belief. That's not to say that it's not important in my life, but it means that I place higher priority on other matters (like God's Word, witnessing, my family and friends, and other such principles and people for which I would give my life). Let's use clothing as an example. God ordained clothing as a covering for our nakedness, which was corrupted by Adam and Eve's sin about 6,000 years ago. In several places in Scripture, it makes obvious that some areas of the body are to be covered, and that we should not dress in ways that lure to those areas. This is the core standard of modesty. So where do skirts-versus-pants, pants-versus-shorts, and such line up with this? Those are the applications of modesty. Application is relative as the Holy Spirit leads. Look at the Bible as an example. Although it is the absolute and final authority, its applications are often quite relative in places. Consider James 4:17, "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." So does that mean that I'm sinning for not preaching to pagan tribes in deep Africa? Not at all. But to someone who knows that God is calling them to the African mission field and doesn't go, to them it is sin. You understand this concept, so I'll not go further. That verse is a perfect example of an absolute standard (to do good) but with relative applications (to him that knows it). Scripture is full of these because Scripture mostly teaches such standards—although the better word for them is principles. Thus, God has called all of us to modesty as an absolute standard, but how we obey Him through application of that standard is between us and the Lord. For some, this means that ladies should always wear skirts or dresses. But for others, this means that pants may be acceptable. Assuming that the clothing is nonsensual, both sides are fully following God's standard of modesty but in different applications. For one to impose their particular application on the other is like someone forcing your life verse to be the same as theirs. Here's a perfect Scriptural example of this. The sixth commandment is "thou shalt not kill [murder]." For the Levite priests, this meant that they were forbidden to shed blood. (King David was not allowed to build the temple because his hands had shed blood.) But to others, God tells them to kill entire tribes and leave none alive. So what's the core standard? To not shed innocent blood. When we apply standards to our lives, it results in what can easily be called preferences because we are preferring one application over another. To us all, God has raised a standard to separate us from the world and to keep us pure, holy, and glorifying to Him. But to every person, that standard is exemplified as the Lord leads through the Holy Spirit in each individual's own heart.