Living a life of Value

Quotes
‘...Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own’ (Lk 12:15 NLT). ‘It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.’ Rom 7:21(NLT). ’Be the change you wish to see in the world’ M. Gandhi.
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Article topic: Living a life of Value
The real value of life cannot be measured only in terms of possessions, skills, abilities or achievements. To have a complete view of life’s value, the measure must include: our belief system, character, relationships, and how well we fare in other areas of life such as love, respect, marriage, parenting, friendship and our contribution to the society.
When we measure life’s value by physical and material possessions only, we miss a great deal of opportunity to see the life big picture and stand the risk of creating a sense of fulfilment that is superficial and temporal in nature. The Bible says, ‘...., Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own’ (Lk 12:15 NLT).
According to the Oxford dictionary, value is defined as beliefs about what is right or wrong. We are all products of different societies and cultures. There are basic values/ belief in each society and culture that are good and acceptable for each one of us to demonstrate in order to strengthen our living together in peace and harmony. These values are fairly similar across board. Such values include: strong belief systems (faith), being good to our neighbours, obedient to the law, kindness, truthful, love, respect for self and others, etc.
It is quite amazing that many of us (at least a large proportion) believe that these values are good and of great benefits to us as individuals and society, but we still find ourselves dishonouring the values at will without even thinking about them. Sometimes, we get so used to violating the values that it soon becomes a norm. We then justify our actions by saying ‘everyone is doing it’. But you are not ‘everyone’. You are a unique and distinguished individual. M. Gandhi said, ’Be the change you wish to see in the world’.
To live a life of value, we must define the boundary within which we want to live our lives, and continuously work at staying within the boundary. However, I have found that this is not so simple to achieve. There is strong passion in forms of ambition, desire, greed, indulgence, etc in everyone. When any or a combination of these get hold of us, we find ourselves going over the boundary.
Paul the Apostle describing a similar experience of such situation, said, ’I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate.’ Rom 7:15 (NLT).
So, why is it difficult to consistently honour our values? I found the following as some of the reasons why.
• Because we do not want to be accountable
• Because we do not want to take responsibility
• We prefer to be seen and perceived as being good without doing good
• Many want to enjoy the fruit of success without pain of labour
• Lack of personal commitment.
The following steps would be helpful to overcome these difficulties.
• Define a boundary within which you want to live your life. For me, as a Bible believing Christian, I have found that boundary defined around my faith in Christ, is more meaningful and enduring because it is based on fundamental principles that do not change with time and season
• Identify what values are important to you and write them down
• Examine each of the values by asking the following questions:
• Why are these values important to me?
• What price am I willing to pay to honour these values?
• Of what benefits are these values to me?
Carefully and sincerely answer these questions and write down your answers.
On a regular basis, be it daily or weekly, take a few minutes to read out your values and evaluate your choices, actions & decisions against the values. You do this to see which of your values you are honouring or dishonouring by your choices, actions and decisions. For example, if one of your value is to be truthful at all times no matter what, and you find yourself in a situation to lie. Stop and ask yourself, does telling a lie align with my value? By so doing, you are brought into a conscious moment decision. When you make up your mind to honour your life values, it will challenge your character, and because you have decided to live accountably and responsibly, you cannot afford to ignore the defects; you must confront it.
To live a life of value, we must confront the defects in our lives. To be candid, every one of us has got character defects. ‘It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.’ Rom 7:21(NLT). To confront these defects, we need more than will power. From my own personal experience, we need an inner strength that comes through Jesus Christ. The good thing is, it is available to everyone who will ask for it.
Publisherr
Kemmy Oluleye
info@lifeofvalue.com
www.lifeofvalue.com