Luke 16:15 “He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.’”
When we buy something that needs to be put together it comes with instructions on how to do it. This is what we have from our Heavenly Father with His Word of instructions (God’s laws, statues, decrees, etc.) on how to live to get the most good out of life. It is not to curtail our fun, enjoyment, but to show us what is best and how to get the most good out of life.
However, because of the natural bent of man which is downward instead of going God’s way, we see the consequences. God has given us the chance to choose rightly. We can go God’s way to deny self, pick up our cross and follow in the way of Jesus, or we can choose to go the way of self-pity. It’s a choice!
The natural bent of man is to go with the current instead of against it because that is the path of least resistance. We read in Hebrews 2:1 “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” When it comes to the things of God (His values) or the things of man we discover that when we choose the latter we find ourselves adrift from godly values and wisdom. Consequently, we find that the final result is our faith in God being ship wrecked.
What are the values in our society today that we highly esteem? We find that they often are in direct opposition to God’s values that give fulfillment, contentment and joy to life. What is it that we highly value today?
The Pursuit of Pleasure. We, especially those of us in the West, value personal pleasure in all of its physical forms available today. However, in reality what is happening is that we are actually drifting and eventually our faith in God ends up ship wrecked.
What are the Biblical values that give everlasting pleasure?
- Pursuit of Christ. Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 3:10
- Pursuit of peace. Psalm 34:14; 1 Peter 3:11
- Pursuit of righteousness. Proverbs 15:9; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy2:22
Personal Autonomy. Responsible to no absolute – except one’s own self.
Consequently, we have the ‘clamor for rights.’ Aleksander Solzhenitsyn said: “We hear a constant clamor for rights, rights, always rights, but so very little about responsibility. And we have forgotten God. The need now is for selflessness, for a spirit of sacrifice, for a willingness to put aside personal gains for the salvation of the whole Western world.”
Biblical values:
- Submission to the rule of God. Romans 14:9; 2 Corinthians 5:15
- Interdependence. We need one another. Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12
We see that our security lies with our relationship with:
- God. Matthew 6:25-34
- Family. We see how families are being torn apart today resulting in insecurity. Families need to be protected at all cost.
- Brothers and sisters in Christ. Acts 2:44-47; 4:34-35
When Henley wrote the prophetic lines, “I am the Master of my Fate, I am the Captain of my Soul,” he should have informed us that we too are the Masters of our Fate, the Captains of our Souls, because we have the power to control our thoughts.Personal security.
Where does our security lie? In our jobs? Money? We often find that these things can change in an instant. Elizabeth Elliot said: “Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your savior, your guide? If He is, you don’t need to search any further for security.”
There are other values that could be mentioned, but I find these three to be the most prominent ones, especially here in the West, but at the same time this is true of any society or culture in the world. We have the same needs, wants, desires, but because of the culture these might take different forms.