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University church of Christ

Assembly Times

 Sunday

   Bible Classes (9:30)

   AM Worship (10:20)

   PM Worship (6:00 pm)

 Wednesday

   Bible Classes
(7:00 PM)

Location

449 North Gay Street

Auburn, AL 36830
Click Here for Specific Directions

Your Values and You

by Steve Hardin
 

Many are not aware of it, but the choices we make everyday say a great deal about our sense of value. It's a simple fact that we choose what we like, what we are interested in. There is a good example in the Bible which shows us the relationship between choices and values. This example is referred to in Hebrews 12:16 where we read, "lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright." This statement in Hebrews is made about Esau in connection with the story we find in Genesis 25.

I think this story demonstrates how much a man is often willing to give away for immediate satisfaction of his material or physical desires . The meal which Esau received from his brother, Jacob, was the most expensive meal that Esau would ever eat.

By virtue of being the firstborn son, Esau had the right of a greater share of inheritance in his father's house. He showed a total lack of appreciation for this right which was his by birth. Instead of appreciation, his choice shows that he really did not comprehend the value of this great blessing.

I believe that one today who is born again (John 3:3) and is in the kingdom of God, has a spiritual birthright. In Christ, all spiritual blessings are found (Ephesians 1:3). There is no greater heritage than that which awaits for the child of God. Notice what Peter wrote about the inheritance of the Christian in 1 Peter 1:3‑4, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." Christians are members of God's family (Galatians 3:26‑27; Romans 8:14‑17).

Great blessings come to those who are part of this family. We are given the right to pray to God, our heavenly Father, and to receive His blessings (Matthew 7:11). There is no guarantee however, that we will receive the great heritage reserved for us. It is reserved for the faithful child of God (Matthew 7:21; Revelation 2:10). Just as Esau sold his birthright, we as God's own children can sell ours for a "mess of pottage."

We can yield to temptation to gratify the lusts of the flesh and thereby relinquish our right to the world's greatest heritage. When we neglect the kingdom of God and put material things above godliness, righteousness or holiness; we do not have a proper sense of values.

It is said that Esau was a profane person (Hebrews 12:16). The profane person is not only one who curse and takes God's name in vain or uses vulgar and obscene speech. A profane person is also one who does not value the spiritual blessing of God above the material things of this world.

What is the value of a dollar, or even a million of them, compared to the birthright of a child of God? All of the money in the world is only a mess of pottage when compared to the spiritual blessings in Christ. The beautiful mansion in this world is only a cheap trinket when compared to the heavenly mansions Jesus promised in John 14:1‑4. Yet, there are those who for one little moment of pleasure in sin will turn from the Lord and sell their birthright.

Moses is held up as an example in Hebrews 11 of one who had a proper sense of values. Moses refused to trade the rich future blessings of God for the temporal pleasures of sin which could have been his in Egypt (Heb. 11:24‑27).

Simple choices in our day to day lives show where in our list of priorities we place the kingdom of Christ. When we choose to come back to services on Sunday evening and when we attend Bible study classes on Sunday and Wednesday, we are saying by our choices what we consider to be important in our lives. If we do not choose to comeback when we could, we likewise are telling the world how much we do not value the spiritual things over physical things.

Likewise, our daily choices in regard to the kind of speech we will use, the kind of clothing that we will or will not wear and our daily conduct show just where our values lie. We prove by such things, no matter what we may say, whether God is first in my life or not. We show by our choices if going to heaven means more to me than popularity and pleasure in this world.

Do you realize that the world's greatest inheritance is yours to have, if you truly value it above all? 

 

Other Articles
A Church Treasury -- Only in a Emergency?
Are You Growing Up?
The Eternal Value of not Giving Up
 

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