.: morning revelation :.

I had an incredible revelation this morning at 5:30am. I am who I am based upon the things that I see as being more or less valuable. For instance, if I see friendships as being truly valuable, than I will do everything within my power to surround myself with friends. This in turn makes the public statement to everyone around me (including those involved) that Dave values friendships. This takes on a twist in the sense that if that thing or situation is widely recognized (or at least by those whom I see as being valuable) as an object worthy of high value, than I am able to use that thing or situation to make a value statement about myself. Did you catch that? I can use things, situations, and even people (!), to control what others think about me. Not only that but I can use them to ultimately convince myself of anything that I want to believe about myself... even if it really isn't true.



The step beyond this first thought is the reality that we live with the consequences of the things that we see as being most valuable. If we continue with the "friends" illustration, the consequences can be anything from having little time for other things (because you are caught up in making and keeping friends, which needless to say can be very time consuming) to always having someone to talk to (depending upon how deep you allow your friendships to go - too many deep ones can really impact your time and space). The impact can be either positive or negative, but we live in the context of a collage of results from our values. The things that we value dictate life as we know it, or at least as we experience it (obviously those two factors share a relationship). If television holds a higher value (most likely with regards to a value of entertainment) than, say, exercise or a healthy lifestyle, the results are seen daily in the mirror. If comfort and rest holds a higher value than good grades, you will tend to sleep in rather than exert yourself for a letter grade better than what you are currently earning.



I don't need to draw the lines for you in order to relate this to our relationship with God. If we value time and intimacy with the Father, the things that we value less will remain less of a priority, receiving less of our time and attention, and ultimately our passion and devotion. If we value it, we will make room for it. We do it every day with things that, if push came to shove (I love that phrase), we would have to agree are less important than fellowship with God and others. Our values play a deep role within our lives. They determine our needs, they dictate how we go about pursuing them (even to what degree of passion and determination that we choose to pursue them with), and they speak to our very nature as it is being fostered and made more like Christ.



The next step is up to every one of us; that is to truly determine what our values are. Some remain pretty out in the open for all to see (often more than we would want others to realize about us), but some values will only be discovered by truly listening to our hearts, and considering the conduct of our lives... with no excuses. We do everything we do for a reason - plain and simple. What that reason is is hardwired to your values... hardwired to your desires.



Father, what do I value the most?