How Strong Are Your Values?
By Aaron D’Anthony Brown
Bible Reading
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27, CSB)
Building a House
You can tell how strong a house is based on its foundation. Even if the top crumbles and the walls come down, a strong house remains where it started. Firmly planted in place. Yet, while a strong foundation is able to resist the elements, a weak foundation succumbs. The walls and the roof collapse, and the foundation, too, breaks apart. Much like a house, you can tell how strong someone’s values are based on how those values hold up under pressure.
I remember entering college as a Christian who professed faith but couldn’t explain to you why I believed. Anytime someone asked me, even gently, why I didn’t attend church or read Scripture, I scrambled. My value was really in complacency, not in a chapel or reading. There was nervousness, sweat, and plenty of avoidance. If you challenged me, which a few Christians did, I’d be offended. I wanted to do my own thing, not be admonished. And though I was not combative, I was most certainly defensive.
Today, I see similar behavior from moral relativists who struggle to explain their ever-changing positions, the perpetually single who never want to self-examine, and even the woke who want everybody to think like them. They all believe the problem is everyone else and never themselves.
What we value and what we don’t reveal much about our hearts. In the same way, you can spot a weak value system, you can also pinpoint someone with well-thought-out beliefs. Their ideals stand up to pressure and are unwavering with time.
As believers, we want to be able to answer, as best we can, anyone who has a question about the faith. That’s especially true if they are trying to push us to be better. When we allow ourselves to grow, not only are our values strengthened, but we become people better equipped to encourage others, and lead people to Christ.
If then, like me, you want to know and continue to strengthen your values, then today presents the perfect opportunity.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Know God
If you want to know what you ought to value, then you have to know God. We do that through prayer and reading. Both allow the Lord to reveal Himself to us, teaching us what we don’t know, and reaffirming what we do.
Know the Word
Reading the Bible is especially relevant because it takes away the confusion we may experience through prayer. Sometimes we ask questions of God and don’t quite understand Him. However, if we read then we can potentially clear up that confusion right away.
Don’t Be Defensive
The Bible talks repeatedly about being humble. Humble people acknowledge when they don’t know when they mess up and how they can grow. If God calls on us to practice this virtue, then be open to having your values challenged. If you’re human, then you’re a sinner, and if a sinner, there are undoubtedly multiple ways in which your value system can be realigned to better fit God’s.
Keep Reading
The only way to know, without any doubt, what to value as a Christian is to read. Reading too helps you strengthen your values because you educate yourself on why you believe in the first place. Back in the day for me, reading the Bible was intimidating because I was so unfamiliar with it. I didn’t want to look dumb, but we all have to start of dumb before we become smart.
More importantly, we have to know what to value if we want to live lives centered on God. Don’t be fooled into thinking everything we value, He values too. Or that everything He values we naturally want for ourselves.
Instead, pursue God through reading and watch as your values fall into place, much like that house with a strong foundation.
Further Reading:
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Matthew 4:4
Matthew 6:33
1 Timothy 6:11
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/ aldomurillo
Get in touch with him at aarondanthony.com and check out his debut short story anthology Honey Dreams on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
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