Certain rules and regulations directly or indirectly guide the way we behave and do things, both when we are alone and when we are with other people. These rules and regulations inform what we consider important or not. The set of things that we think are important and their order of importance make up our value system. It is, therefore, vital that we have the right value system so that we can do things that will please God. If the things we attach importance to are things that God is pleased with, then we can say we have right values. We shall learn the meaning and types of value system and to consider the advantages of right value system. We will also see examples of how Jesus chose the right values as well as some other examples from the Bible.
Meaning of Value System
As we live daily, there are different things that we think are important to us. Those things may be significantly different from person to person. Those things that we consider necessary are the values we have chosen. When we now put all the things that we think are important together, we can call that our value system. Value system has been described as a set of values that an individual has picked up and these values are arranged in their order of importance. So, if you think it is important to speak the truth, be honest, be satisfied with whatever you have, respect elders, show love to family, etc., the combination of those things you consider important will form your value system.
Perhaps you have made your choice based on how much pleasure the thing you chose will give you or for other reasons. The choice you made shows your value system. Human beings naturally prefer things that excite them and things that make them feel good or important. These are what 1 John 2:16 calls the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Should our choice of what we consider important be based on how much pleasure it gives us? Let’s look at how Jesus chose what He considered to be of value.
Jesus Built His Value System on God’s Word-Matthew 4:1-11
Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the devil came to tempt Him with things that gratify the flesh. Knowing Jesus must be hungry after fasting for forty days and nights, the devil asked Him to turn stones to bread. When Jesus would not fall for that, the devil also asked Him to display His mightiness by jumping from a height. Jesus did not fall for that either. Then the devil asked Him to bow in exchange for all the beautiful things of the world. Jesus did not fall for this also. Why was Jesus able to withstand the temptations? His value system was determined by the Word of God. He had a Scripture verse to counter each of the suggestions of the devil. Like Jesus, do you have the Word of God in your heart? It is the Word of God that will help you stand by your decision when you are tempted to do wrong.
Jesus’ Choice Lives Above Business – Matthew B:2H-34
Matthew .34, the people of the town begged Jesus to leave their area after the people keeping the pigs reported what happened to them. While the people were possibly concerned about their loss (the pigs that perished in the lake), Jesus was concerned about the lives of the two men who were afflicted by the demons, To Jesus, the lives of the men were more important than the business there, Jesus preferred to release the demons in the men into the herds of pigs than to allow those demons to continue to torment those two precious lives. If you have to choose between what will benefit others to what will benefit only you, what would be your preference?
Jesus’ Choice: Kingdom Business Above Personal Satisfaction-John 4:4-6,31-34
Having travelled a long distance, Jesus was very tired; so He located a well where He could rest for a while. While He was by the well, He saw an opportunity to attend to kingdom business-soul-winning-and He forgot about His personal satisfaction, What a choice! His disciples returned from where they went to get some food for Him but were surprised to find Him busy talking with a woman; He was trying to save her from her sins, When the disciples begged Him to eat some food, Jesus told them that His food was to do the will of God and to finish His work. If you are feeling sleepy during time of family devotion, what would you do? Choosing values like Jesus will make you deny yourself of the satisfaction of extra sleep, by standing up to participate fully in the family devotion rather than simply taking a nap while the devotion is ongoing.
Importance of Having Right Value System
Our value system points to what we consider important. It also shows what we think is important. As such, our value system determines a lot of things about us: it determines the kind of friends we keep, the places we visit, the types of dresses we wear and many more. We should pay attention to our value system because it has effects on how we see ourselves and the people around us. For example, the Israelites seemed like grasshoppers in their own sight (Numbers 13:33) but David saw the giant as a mere uncircumcised Philistine (1 Samuel17:26). David described a relationship with God as more important than whatever military prowess Goliath had, because of their different value system.
Practical Lessons of Having Right Value System
You will have a right self-esteem: The way you see yourself affects the way you act. And the way you see yourself is connected to the things that you attach importance to. If you think you are only important because of the things you have: the kind of house you live in, the kind of school you attend, the car your parents drive and so on, you will always be unhappy. You will always consider yourself too little and insignificant than you really are when your value system is bad. But when you have a right self-esteem, you will remember that the life of a person does not consist in the multitude of what he/she has(Luke 12:15).
You will be at peace with yourself: When you have resolved that your importance is not based on wealth, position, people and other false sources of self-worth, you will be at peace with yourself. Many people run after things just because they think those things will make them important and happy. They engage in evil practices just because they want those things at all cost, afterwards, they crave for more. Such unending desire is based on bad value system. When you have chosen right values system, you are at peace with yourself because you know the things you want do not define you or determine your sense of importance you are content with what you have.
You will be at peace with others: When you have wrong value system, you will do things that are not right but if you have a right value system, you will not only be at peace with yourself, you will also be at peace with others.
You will be successful: Good value system is one that is built on the Word of God. When you choose your values based on God’s Word, you are on the right path of success(Joshua 1:8).According to Proverbs 3:1-6,picking values based on God’s Word will ensure peace, prosperity, favour, good name, divine direction and much more.
You will be a good model: We all like to look up to good people and learn from them. What we see today are the results of the good choices such people have made. That is the same way the choices we make today will serve as good examples for others. So, if you build a right value system now, you give hope to others that they can also do better.
You will please God: The most important advantage of choosing the right value system is that it will enable you to please God. And when you please God, every other thing falls into place.
Conclusion
This article has shown us Jesus’ examples of right value system. Like all of us, Jesus was tempted to make wrong choices but He chose not to. Jesus made right choice because He depended on God’s Word. He understood the Word and lived by the Word. This is a challenge to you to seek to know and obey the Word of God. When you have to make a choice, always ask yourself: “What would Jesus do?”
We have seen how important it is for us to have right value system. Our will be better if we all choose right value system. We will be at peace with God, and others.