What Do You Value?

What do you value? It sounds like a simple question, but there's a lot more to it that it seems. A lot of us would respond to that question with things that we would like to say that we value, but our lifestyles would show otherwise. To further this point, take a look at your checkbook register. What are you spending the majority of your money on? Are you buying a lot of "stuff" for yourself? Or are you allowing God to use the resources He's given you to bless others and further His kingdom? You place your money in things or people that you value. What does your checkbook say that you value most?

Now, take a minute to write down what you've done this past week or weekend. Look over that list and take note of what you spent the most time doing. How much time did you spend serving others or spending time in scripture? If we're truly honest, most of us probably spent our time doing things we wanted to do. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with enjoying time with friends and having fun. The problem is when we invest the majority of our time in what we want to do and we give a fraction of that time to Christ to serve Him and others.

The reality is that if we seriously value our relationship with Christ, we would invest time and resources (money) in that relationship. Look at it this way. Suppose you wanted to get together with your best friend to catch up and share some exciting new events in your life. You call your friend to set up a time during the week to get together, but your friend informs you that she doesn't have an opening until a month later and even then would only be able to give you maybe 10 minutes of her time. She rationalizes it by saying that she's just really busy right now. How would that make you feel? Would you feel very valuable to that friend? No! That wouldn't make you feel very good, would it? If your friend is only willing to work you into her schedule and give you 10 minutes, that doesn't give the illusion that she values your friendship or what's going on in your life very much.

That's exactly what we do to God. We say that we value our relationship with Him, but we don't back our words up with action. We work God into our "busy" schedule, which, if we were honest, isn't as busy as we make it out to be. We could make more time for God, but do we want to? Is He a priority? Do we value our relationship with Him enough to put Him first with our finances and with our time? Spending 10 minutes a day with God doesn't constitute a relationship. You're simply an aquaintance with Christ, because, how can you truly know someone if you don't spend time with them?

Take time to evaluate your priorities and what you value most. Ask God to help you restructure your life/time to put Him first. You won't regret it!
Focus on your eternal dwelling, not your earthly one. This is not our home, so don't live like it is. Build the legacy you want to leave when you are gone. Start with your values/priorities. What do you want people to say you valued most in life?