February 13, 2019
Values are what we use to drive our actions. Every day, we inspire, encourage, and motivate the people we meet. Or, we demoralize, put-down and demotivate people. Scripture says,
From the principle of cause-effect relationship, we see a link in which one event (the cause) makes another event happen (the effect). Example. Salvation is the cause, good works are the effect. We are saved (the cause) to be witnesses (the effect).
Because of God’s grace (the cause), Christians are dedicated to introducing people to Jesus (the effect). What causes believers to engage in actions that non-believers ignore? The dedicated follower assumes God’s Master Values as their core values.
God’s Master Values are a set of divine standards and principles to guide Spiritual Paradigm II Believers. Unlike man’s values that can shift with life’s experiences, God’s Master Values are immutable. They are of supreme importance to the Believer.
Master Values are the guiding principles, the fundamental rules by which we carry out the two greatest commandments. At first, we choose actions and speech that reflect them; after a while, they become a part of who we are. Master Values prescribe the Believers behavior. Because we accept and adopt God’s Master Values, we love Him with all heart, strength, and soul, and love our neighbor as ourselves.
God’s Master Values provide Believers with a set of standards and principles to guide them in their daily decision making. For the man or woman attempting to walk with God, genuinely important decisions—those involving core values—do not require much time for thought. The answers to such issues are second nature, a part of the spiritual man and woman.
The Bible reveals God’s Master Values and teaches basic principles of Christian living. The degree to which Believers learn, internalize, and integrate these values into their daily activities determines whether they remain, spiritual babies, drinking milk or, become spiritual men and women feasting on solid food and walking with God.
God’s Master Values are THE guiding principles by which we are to live and not a body of detailed rules and regulations. They establish the ground rules and boundaries for a walk with God.
Next week: Values have eternal consequences.