Name Your Values

Name Your Values, and Then Live by Them 

Name Your Values, and Then Live By Them
By Rick Warren

“[Moses] regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward” (Hebrews 11:26NIV).

The first resolution: Choose to be who God wants you to be. The second resolution: Choose short-term pain for long-term gain.

And then Moses made a third life-shaping resolution: He chose God’s values, not the world’s. And that’s why God used him!

Hebrews 11:26 says, “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward” (NIV).

Moses made a value judgment. He clarified what mattered most to him.

Let me ask you this question: What matters most in your life? What are the top three or four values in your life? Can you name them easily?

If you ask me, I’ll tell you real simply what they are for me: integrity, humility, and generosity. I decided more than 30 years ago that that’s what I wanted to build my life on — integrity, humility, and generosity — because they’re the antidotes to the three traps of leadership.

Can you name the three most important values in your life right now? If you can’t, then you certainly can’t live by them. You’re not living your values if you can’t even name them. Before you go one more day, you need to sit down and ask, “What’s most important to me? What are the top values in my life?” And you need to write them out, because until you clarify your values, you can’t live by them.

Moses chose God’s values over the world’s values. Why is this so important? Because if you don’t decide what’s important in your life, other people are going to decide for you. They’re going to push you into their mold. And you’re going to live your life by their values, not yours.

You’ve got to decide what’s most important to you and then live by those values.

Talk It Over

• What are the three most important values in your life?
• How can you clarify them?
• How can you apply them in your life?