The Values Driven Heart
Next to the Bible, Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life” stands as the best-selling Christian book of all time. Clearly, it resonated with a lot of people. And rightfully so, Rick’s point was crisp and clear: if we are to gain traction in life, it boils down to living life with a purpose.
There is, however, another impetus that drives the way we live our lives: values. Values are that which we treasure. Jesus himself points out that it is our values, our treasures, which ultimately direct our hearts.
Jesus on Values
“Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
Jesus points out that we are wired on the inside based on values. We knowingly or unknowingly reveal what we value in our day-to-day decisions. Let me give you a few, simple examples:
Kids have a hard time waking up in the morning for school, but wake up ahead of their parents for the premiere of Star Wars. A woman scrimps on the cost of dishwashing liquid, but splurges on her favorite brand of lipstick. A man remembers the schedules of his favorite sporting events but forgets his own wedding anniversary.
Values are the reason why we have the time and energy for certain things and not for others. In short, 100% of the decisions we make, knowingly or unkowingly are always based on what we value.
Time and Treasure
But this is more than just a trivial discussion on values, for Jesus explains its importance when He said:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
He stresses the point on values by highlighting the word treasure three times in three successive verses, explaining the importance of time and treasure on earth at present and in heaven in eternity.
There are only 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. No one gets more or less. In this, we are all equal.
24 Boxcars
I once heard a man describe time like a train with 24 boxcars connected to it. Each boxcar represented an hour of the day. Every hour, we are given an opportunity to put certain things into the boxcar that stands before us. After an hour passes, the train moves along and another new, empty boxcar stands in front of us, waiting to be filled.
We have all heard this from the time management gurus. Regardless of who we are, there is no stopping the train. It will just keep on moving; with every boxcar changing by the hour, whether it gets loaded with something or nothing at all.
What we load into those boxcars will determine what we will find in the future as the train moves ahead of us. If we stored love for our family and friends, healthy practices, money and investments into those boxcars, that’s what we can expect in the future. If we stored the things of God in the present, we can expect to enjoy them in the afterlife.
Storing Right
Conversely, if we did not put anything into those boxcars, then there will be nothing for us to find in the future. What’s worse is if we put the things that can harm us in the future then that’s all we can expect. Keeping in mind that someday the boxcars will stop coming here on earth as we enter the realms of eternity.
This is the importance of values. When we fill our boxcars with that which is most valuable, we can expect a future filled with the most valuable things in life. The big question is, which things are most valuable?
This new blog series will form snippets of my new book, “The Values Driven Heart”. It is written to help you find that which is most valuable, so you can lay for yourself the right treasures that will meet you not just in the near future…but in eternity.
Stay tuned.
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