OUR VALUES (PART 1)

BIBLE TEXT: Luke 10:38-42

³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”  NKJV

Value is a multifaceted concept that permeates various aspects of our lives. They are underlying forces that shape our perceptions about life. These values are deeply embedded in our personal lives and collective experiences, influencing how we interact with one another and what we prioritise in our lives. They are often less visible and harder to quantify but are integral to fostering meaningful relationships and creating a sense of belonging.

Values are said to be the importance, worth, or usefulness of someone or something. They are important because they guide and guard our lives, especially when making decisions. It is safe to say that values are like a compass that helps guide and guard our lives. This means there is an implication for every value we live by. Values encompass elements like love, humility, trust, integrity, honesty, respect, kindness, etc. When we begin to understand where our values spring up from, then we can make better decisions about ourselves and become more self-aware. When we look at our lives, we can agree that our values spring up from different channels like our belief system, the families we are born into, relationships, social media, environment, etc. For this write-up, we shall be focussing on values based on relationships.

There are certain possessions I have in my life that, by my own definition, are valuable to me, which I can’t let go of easily. Sometimes, I begin to see myself as a hoarder, and these are just material possessions. One of such incidents was when I was travelling to visit family and my husband wanted me to give out some of my bags that I had not used in a while, but I loved seeing them arranged in my wardrobe even when I hardly make use of most of them because I just repeat a few over again. I struggled because I loved seeing them being beautifully displayed, and after a little persuasion of how I would get much more and even better ones if I released them, I finally succumbed, and without a doubt those bags were replaced with much better ones. Hallelujah; what a testimony indeed. But isn’t that how we are supposed to hold on to our values?

There is a reason why we are here, and it is pitiable when we begin to live the life of another man while ours wastes away, because decision-making is part and parcel of our everyday lives; we decide whether to be on our beds and face the consequences, or go to school or work; we decide whether to exercise or not; whether to eat all the junk foods and face the consequences; or whether to discipline ourselves to stay healthy; we even decide on the relationships/associations we want to have and keep while facing the consequences of our decisions. Let’s put it the way Newton’s third law of motion states it:

“To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”.

Values help us live lives that put ourselves first through our identity, which is the foundation; when our identity is known, our values become clearer. Thinking about ourselves means that we will have to make more sacrifice(s) than we visualise, because we are faced with the new reality of skipping certain excesses, not because they are necessarily bad, but at that time are not adding to us.

1 Corinthians 10:23 says “All things are lawful {that is, morally legitimate, permissible}, but not all things are beneficial or advantageous. All things are lawful, but not all things are constructive {to character} and edifying {to spiritual life}. AMP

Let’s take an example. Imagine being in a social gathering where a variety of food and drinks have been made available to indulge in, and logically, you have the freedom to do so. However, overindulging in the name of enjoyment is not beneficial to your health or even the event; the same way a successful athlete cannot say, “I have made enough money and can skip the gym but still be at the top of my career,” there are sacrifices that come with maintaining or keeping our values. This means we must get our priorities right at every junction of our lives, as was the case for Mary and her sister Martha. Martha did nothing wrong by attending to Christ and making sure He was taken care of; she was very hospitable, but her priorities were misaligned at that time because Mary was ready to give up anything and everything to just sit and listen to Jesus speak. Mary’s eagerness to listen, to sit at Jesus’ feet showed how hungry she was for spiritual truth and understanding. She also served Jesus by Anointing His feet with costly oil of spikenard and wiped His feet with her hair. Indeed, a height of worship never seen before. Mary had a strong decision-making capability by prioritizing.

(John 12:3: Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.)

WHAT WILL MAKE YOU SIT WITH CHRIST TO LISTEN TO HIM JUST SPEAK TO YOU?

As we conclude the first part of knowing our values, let’s do a little exercise by sincerely answering these questions for ourselves.

• What is your value or what is important to you?

• Where did your values originate from?

• Are you living out your values?

• How do you maintain your values?

• What principles have you maintained based on your values?

• What area(s) need improvement?

Prayer: Heavenly father, grant me the grace to hold on to my values through the identity you have birthed in me as I embark on life’s journey of daily decision-making in Jesus’ name. Amen.