Our Highest Value

Our Highest Value

Read: Luke 16:13-15

“What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

Luke 16:15

“That to which your heart clings is your god.”

—Martin Luther

IN WORD What is highly valued among men? In the context of this passage, it is money. It was true in the Pharisees’ day and it is true in ours. But there are also other things highly valued among us: prestige, comfort, accolades, pleasure, accomplishments, property, and more. We even highly value some very good things: love, faithfulness, honesty, and a host of other virtues that both Christian and secular culture hold as ideals. Can Jesus really mean that all of these things are detestable in God’s sight?

It is a consistent principle of the Bible in general, and also of the gospel Jesus taught, that anything that motivates us other than a love for God Himself is detestable in God’s eyes. Anything we treasure more than Him is an object of idolatry and a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

It is true that most of our values are inherently opposed to a loving pursuit of God, but even the values He endorses are detestable when they become an end in themselves. The “love” that our secular culture pursues is not pleasing to God if it is not in the context of His love. If the virtues for which we honor others are not the work of God’s Spirit in their lives, they are products of self-effort and monuments to the “goodness” of independent humanity. They are by nature dishonoring to God if they are not testimonies to His grace.

IN DEED Yes, God detests the things we highly value if they are valued apart from Him. And we must constantly ask ourselves: “Is there anything in my heart that did not originate from His Spirit? Is there anything I treasure as an entity in itself rather than as a gift from Him?” If we can answer yes to these—and at times we all can—then we must redirect our passions and our ideals to the character of God Himself. He is our highest value.