Values

Values

Where do they come from, what values do you have, how do you define values and what place do they have in our lives?

When you think about it, values are such a crucial aspect to a man's life and the path that he and his family, friends and associates walk.

I'm not sure about you, but this is one area that I've overlooked and haven't appreciably meditated on and seriously defined. Don't get me wrong, I have strong convictions and principles, but to qualify and prioritize my core values - that I have not done and would suspect, most men haven't.

Pastor AR Barnard states that for men to grow - that is improve in their walk in life, they need 3 structures:

Clearly articulated world view
Clear set of core values
Clear set of core purposes

So let's look at point 2.

Order V's Chaos

Before the fall of man, there was order and structure, God had structure and order, chaos ( the opposite of order and governance) entered man's world at the fall of man with his decision to abandon God's order.

So Christ comes into our lives and begins the restoration of that order in our lives, that is, as men, we're begin a reconstruction process, we're "under construction". Christ rebuilds our lives, we then have to consolidate and defend each new part and then rebuild the next part of our life. Man does not become immediately fixed and restored by a prayer, but a process with the HS.

The point of defending that reconstruction is that chaos is always circulating around the perimeter of our lives looking for an opportunity / weakness to re-enter our lives. For example, poverty, proclivities, hatred, anger, violence, infidelity, fear...

So where do values come into this?:

Core Values have the following:
- They are convictions, not preferences
- What you are willing to stand for, fight for, pay the price for
- They are non-negotiationable
- If you violate them, you are effectively betraying yourself, you are sinning
- They guide your choices
- They are the lens by which we make choices

(Choices we as men make are the very reason I am running Ironmen)

When we define our core values, then we need to think about how we prioritize them.

Think about this, 2 people, married, both have the same values, but have them at different levels of importance. This immediately becomes a point of contention.
The husband values career higher than she, and she values time together higher than career....

Once we have defined our core values and assigned a value system to them, we then should begin to see how these govern our lives.

Jesus, as an example gave men a value system:
"Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you"

"I have come to give life, and life in all it's best and greatest... a rich and satisfying life"

and John says:

" I wish above all things that you prosper and are in good health, just as your soul prospers"

Values are a key to achieving that rich and satisfying life.... the author of Life, giving us the value system to unlock the door to a great life..

For me a little but powerful revelation about how powerful the definitions of my values was when thinking about my time at my previous employer, for 2 years I enjoyed my time, but for the last 3 years I always look back with a sense of discomfort and unease. It occurred to me while preparing this talk, that the reason was partially because my employer did not have the same values as I - there was conflict.

Just think about this for our career's an work life - if your boss's value or employers value systems are not the same as yours, there is immediate conflict.

In our marriages, if your wife's' values are different from yours, there is likely a large emotional bankruptcy going on in her heart built up over years of not meeting her values... or her's not meeting yours, manifesting in frustration and a wandering eye.

Next Week we'll look into where do values come from, how to implement them, what values we've come up with...