What do you value most in life? What would you willing to sacrifice for?
God has a purpose and plan for every person. God did not put us on earth just to occupy space. For God to be able to use us to the fullest according to his purpose, each of us have to prioritize what matter most, in other words we need to clarify our values, evaluate what is important to us and then, our actions should be in agreement with our values.
For the first, second, and third parts of this article visit www.wbfmfamily.com
There are four things that need to be done to achieve real success: choose the source of your value, clarify what’s important, change your lifestyle to match what you say with what is important, and check yourself daily to see if you’re continuing to say and do what you value. In the last issue, we discussed the second of the four things that need to be done. Now, we go to the third and fourth important things to be done for the conclusion of this article.
Third, Change My Lifestyle
Now that you have chosen your source and clarified what is important, next is to change your lifestyle to conform with your values.
If you want to focus on changing your life, there are three main areas that you need to focus on: time, money, and relationships.
If you really want to build a value based-life, you have to take your values and make sure they are applied to your time, your money and your relationships.
First, your time. You need to say, my time needs to reflect what I say is really important. If God is really important in my life, I should have a daily quiet time with Him, studying the Bible, praying, and meditating His words.
Then, you should remember the Sabbath day (rest/worship day) according to the fourth commandment, to make it holy. Second, your money should reflect that He’s first in your finances and giving back to God (to a church you regularly worship) the tithe first, before anybody else gets paid, for everything you have is from God including your life (Psalm 24:1). And third, is your relationship. You need to look and see that you’re making quality time for the relationships that are really important especially your relationship with your spouse and children.
Psalm 119:37 “Turn my eyes away from worthless things.”
That would be a good verse to put on your TV. Of course there is nothing wrong to watch TV for as long as what you are watching could not poison your moral values.
The Message Bible translates it as, “Stop going along with the mindless crowd. That’s no life for you. Get rid of it. Then take on an entirely new way of life, a God fashioned life, renewed from the inside and working out into your conduct, as God reproduces His character in you.”
It starts with a change in values. I know that some of you would say, “I’d like to change, but I don’t have the energy or the power or the strength or the wisdom to do it. You are right. That’s why you need God in your life. That’s why you need Jesus Christ. God gives you the power to do what He wants you to do. You can’t do this on your own. YOU NEED THE POWER OF GOD TO DO.
Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Another translation says, “He gives me the strength and power. You get the power to choose the source, to clarify what’s important and then to begin changing your lifestyle.”
But the tragedy is most of us never get serious about changes in our lives until it’s too late, when we are already in a crisis.
Don’t wait until you say, “I wish I’d done that differently.” Or “If only…”
To change your life, you have to do more than just decide what your source is going to be and what’s important.
To solidify the changes in your lifestyle, you need to do this final thing:
Fourth, Check My Values Daily
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
What does it mean to keep your heart with all diligence? It means you do the things that are true and right, the things that are of value.
1 Timothy 4:16 “Keep a close watch on all you do and think. Stay true to what is right and God will bless you and use you to help others.” If you’re serious about changing, you have to be sure you are following your values on a daily basis.
They are values that are from the Holy Bible. They have been the same for thousands of years. Situations and technology may change but God’s values are eternal.
In Paul’s letter to his disciple Timothy, he challenges him to be careful about something. 1 Timothy 6:20-21 “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.” The Living Bible says,
“Some have missed the most important thing in life – they don’t know God.”
If you do not know Christ, now is the time to be introduced to Him!
If you have slipped away from Him, now is the time to come back! In conclusion, ask yourself, “What Do I Value in Life?”
In succeeding issues of this paper the writer will discuss, “Why There Are So Many Christian Denominations.”
To find the answers of the increasingly complex problems and frightening developments in the world today, Word Became Flesh Ministries, a non-denominational, Bible based church is inviting you to its free interactive Bible study on the Six Basic Bible Lessons. For details, see its invitation in this paper under “GIVE GOD A CHANCE.”