Question 1

What is the benefit of living by the values God considers important?

Accepted Answer

Joshua 1:6-9“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”God’s values are recorded in his Word. Knowing them, continually meditating on them, discussing them with others, and putting them into practice will lead to a life of success in God’s eyes.Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.God’s will is the expression of his values. Trusting him and seeking to do what he values provides us with reliable guidance for living.Matthew 6:19-21“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”Matthew 6:31-33“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”Living in this world will always involve responding to the demands of the world’s values, what the world treasures. But a constant awareness of God’s active presence and continuous efforts to live by his values will ensure that our lives will be properly ordered.2 Kings 12:15No accounting of this money was required from the construction supervisors, because they were honest and trustworthy men.1 Samuel 12:4“No,” they replied, “you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a single bribe.”Living by the values of Scripture will earn us a good reputation, make us trustworthy, and help us model a life that pleases God.

Question 2

How can I cultivate godly values?

Accepted Answer

Genesis 39:8-9But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. . . . How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”We are to refuse to value the kind of life choices the Bible says are worthless or dangerous to our long-term well-being. To obey God’s word is to align our values with God’s values. As Joseph demonstrated, this principle becomes true in our lives in situations where we are being tempted.Psalm 15:1-5Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.Micah 6:8No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.Matthew 7:12“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”Galatians 5:22-23The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.Godly living simply means valuing what God values. If we want godly values, we need God living within us. He promises that his Holy Spirit will literally live in us if we ask. The Holy Spirit will help us value what is truly important and demonstrate those values in our lives.Psalm 92:12-15The godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, “The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!”Godly living is described here as a life lived “in the Lord’s own house” or in a conscious awareness of God’s presence, no matter what the season. It includes a consistent recognition of God’s holy character and personal interest.

Question 3

How do I take inventory of my current values?

Accepted Answer

Proverbs 30:8First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.Romans 1:29Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.Ephesians 5:4Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.How do you view acts the Bible calls sin, such as gossip, flattery, profanity, lying, or cheating? If you don’t see these as sin, you must face up to the fact that your values are different than God’s.Matthew 15:19“From the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying and slander.”The heart is the source of moral or immoral behavior. If our actions don’t regularly match up with what God identifies as important and good, then we need a change of heart before we can hope to change our behavior.1 Corinthians 10:12-13If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.An effective inventory of values begins by taking nothing for granted. Assuming that our lives are blameless sets us up for not seeing what God may want to correct or improve about our values and the way we carry them out. Knowing what it takes to “stand strong” is not the same thing as actually standing strong.

Question 4

How important is it for me to live a consistently moral life?

Accepted Answer

Proverbs 28:2When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.Exodus 23:24You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.Psalm 24:3-4Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.Strong moral values demonstrate the genuineness of our commitment to follow God. Such values are also essential to the well-being of any society.Matthew 7:24-27“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”Jesus made it clear that even familiarity with his teachings will not lead to a settled and stable life unless his teachings are fully lived out.

Values