Values Anyone?
April 15, 2005
Yesterday, someone at Harbor said to me, "why do we always talk about our values when we meet corporately?" Great question!
Ultimately, our values drive everything we do. At a deep, sometimes invisible level, our actions reflect what we value most. That's why Jesus says, "You'll know a tree by it's fruit." If that is true, then one of the ways to determine what your values are is to simply look at your behavior and tell the truth about what it communicates.
So, what happens if my behavior reflects values of fear or materialism or ease and convenience? What happens if my behavior reflects a commitment to controling the people, places and things in my life for the sake of my own self-serving agenda. In short, what happens if my values don't reflect the values that Jesus calls us to? Well, actually that is a good place to begin. Telling the truth - walking in the light - is always God's way.
Consistently telling the truth means that I find a way to hold up before me a picture of where I am (values that don't reflect Jesus' teachings) and where I want to be (values that do reflect Jesus' teachings). We don't hold up those two pictures to judge or condem - in Christ there is no condemnation. We do it because we are easily drawn by the world into it's values. What starts out as a small gap can actually grow larger. Telling the truth about what our behavior reflects about our values - that releases his power in our lives.
SO, we value (1) living in community... (2) being on mission... (3) living counter-culturally. Are Harbor's values Jesus' values? We believe they are. Do we live them out perfectly? Absolutely not? Are we making progress? I think we are. What do you think? Are Harbor's values your values? Most of us will say "to some degree." That means you are a work in process.
I believe that we are powerless to close the gap between our actual values and the values we say we want to live by. But, Jesus can close that gap. If we will tell the truth about where we are - to him and to some trusted Jesus followers - and if we will access the resources that his spirit offers us - he will close the gap so that we are increasingly men and women of integrity. I'm going to journey into that today. Hope you will too.