Where do we get the values, standards, and beliefs that guide our actions and form our characters?
"Where do you get your values?" our professor asked. I watched him as he approached each student in the graduate philosophy course. Though it was years ago, I remember distinctly the professor's penetrating dark brown eyes that seemed to look right through us as he challenged our every inconsistency.
One member of our class was a Catholic sister. She wore her habit, clearly identifying her loyalties. The professor had directed his questions to one student after another, going around the circle. The sister was next. Would she allow birth control literature to be mailed if she were the postmistress of the United States? Or would she obey the authority of the church regarding moral issues, teaching her students that they must obey the church, even against the laws of the country? Yes, she would be loyal to her church, she confirmed, and would follow its pronouncements.
"You really cannot be a good American citizen if you put the demands of the church before the ideals and laws of the country," the professor declared. As a democratic country, America protects the right of the individual to free choice. "So you really are not a good American, are you?" he argued.
Prayerful Choice
Through the years my professor's insistent question has lingered in my mind. Unless we have prayerfully examined our values and have clearly come to understand their consequences, we may be living inconsistent lives. We must personally choose our standards and commit ourselves to live by them, or we will probably give mixed messages to those within our influence. We should be able to give good, relevant reasons for the choices we make that govern our behavior. If we are committed to our beliefs and values and are prepared to defend them because we believe sincerely that they are right, we will be willing to share our convictions, and others will see consistency in our behavior.
Where do we get the values, standards, and beliefs that guide our actions and form our characters? Do we just pick them up naturally from our parents, pastors, teachers, peers, and the media? Do we simply believe what we want to and do what feels good? Or is there any authority that we may look to for consistency, for justice, and for mercy?
Yes, there is an authority: "In the beginning God" (Gen 1:1). He is, He was, and He will be forever more. He is almighty, all-knowing, all-caring. He is our Creator, forever trustworthy, infinite in mercy and love. He created us for a high and holy purpose with the possibility of an everlasting, exhilarating destiny.
Source of Standards
As a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, I have declared my decision to be loyal to God first and foremost. His Word, the Holy Scriptures, is my guide and basis for my life decisions, actions and standards. Both the Old and the New Testaments reveal to me God's love and concern for His people. God has appealed to men and women throughout the ages to taste and see that the Lord is good. His Word is filled with wonderful promises to those who by faith accept Him as Lord and Master.
God sent His Son to show us the depth of His commitment to save us from the slavery of sin and from the enemy who is trying to destroy us. Jesus is our example; He has given us a pattern to follow. His invitation is "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt 11:28-30). Jesus, living in us, provides the power and strength to enable us to do as we ought.
I have chosen to identify myself with the Seventh-day Adventist church because I believe this church is God's remnant people with a special message for these last days. I have examined the Scriptures and find this church's teachings to be consistent with them.
And the Holy Spirit speaks to my mind and heart through the writings of God's messenger, Ellen G. White. Her words challenge me to exercise my God-given capabilities to the fullest, to humbly trust God's Word, to depend upon Him for power to accomplish His biddings and to praise Him for the privilege of service. Through Ellen White's writings, the Holy Spirit has pointed out my sins and weaknesses and has also encouraged and inspired my soul.
In sorrow and in joy I find great comfort and meaning as God speaks through His servant. Next to the Bible itself, the writings of this messenger of God are my most cherished encouragement. I cannot read her books without being uplifted, challenged, comforted, and made grateful to God for her humble, self-sacrificing ministry.
Are the standards of our church out of date in this fast moving, competitive, pace-setting, technologically oriented generation? Is God relevant today? I believe He is if anything more relevant for this generation than for any previous one. We need Him more today, for more than ever crime, destruction, disease, warfare and death are everywhere.
When society looks to itself for its standards, it sinks lower and lower. Without God it is impossible for people to rise above their own sinful selves. The self-centered person makes "I" his or her God. "I want, I like, I feel, I need, I love, I, I, I." Modern music is full of "I." The center of SIN is "I."
But when we make God our center and accept His standards for our lives, He receives our highest loyalty and reverence. We submit our will to Him and humbly ask Him to guide our lives. "Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted." We do not put our own interpretation on God's clear, "Thus saith the Lord." We make no other gods. We humble ourselves before our Creator. God becomes everything to us and we become nothing without Him.
God at the Center
When God is the center of our affections and loyalties, other people and their needs become important to us. We live to honor our parents. We respect and protect the lives, families, and property of our fellow human beings. Our lives find joy in service to our neighbors. We find our greatest happiness in sharing God's blessings and love. We sense our obligation to invite everyone to become partakers of God's mercy and to become His son or daughter.
How can we know that we are children of God? "Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are Christ's, our thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All that we have and are is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things" (Steps to Christ, p. 58).
"The true Christian will never complain that the yoke of Christ is galling to the neck. He accounts the service of Jesus as the truest freedom. The law of God is his delight. Instead of seeking to bring down the divine commands, to accord with his deficiencies, he is constantly striving to rise to the level of their perfection" (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 220).
The most precious offering we can give to God is our hearts. In return He gives us His forgiveness, His peace. He clothes us with His own righteousness, the wedding garment that fits us for entrance into the kingdom of God. Through prayer, watchfulness, diligent study of God's Word, we will be able to reach a high standard. We will understand the truth, and our characters will be molded by a divine influence. (See Sons and Daughters of God, p. 98).
Meeting God's Standard
Ellen G. White assured us, "The heart in which Jesus makes His abode will be quickened, purified, guided, and ruled by the Holy Spirit, and the human agent will make strenuous efforts to bring his character into harmony with God. He will avoid everything that is contrary to the revealed will and mind of God.... Such a life... will be full of comfort, full of satisfaction, because you are bringing heaven into your life, peace into your soul" (ibid.).
Satan would have us believe that it is impossible to obey God's commandments. In our own strength it is impossible. But Jesus came as a human being and proved that human effort combined with divine power makes what is humanly impossible possible with God (see Christ's Object Lessons, p. 314).
How to Please Jesus
In the parable of the wedding feast, Jesus tells of the guest who refused the special garment provided by the King. When the King came in to see the guests, he said to this man, "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless" (Matt 22:12). The wedding garment represents the pure, spotless character which Christ's true followers will possess. Christ has provided the garment at the infinite price of His own precious blood.
Will we be speechless before Him when He examines our characters or will we be covered with the wedding garment of Christ's righteousness? In that day, how insignificant will appear our cherished idols—our love of display, our pride of position, our unsanctified tastes, our love of pleasure, our lustful desires, our criticism, our will, and our neglect of doing God's will.
God says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" (Ex 20:3).
How grateful I am to the Lord for His revelations of His will to me. In His Word I have found His standards for my life, and in addition He has directed my path with hundreds of miracles that fill me with awe and reverence. In spite of my struggles and failures, I am humbled by His patience and graciousness shown in so many everyday occurrences. He fills my heart with joy and overwhelming gratitude. I want my life to honor Him and to reflect His standards for Christian living. I love Him and know that I can trust Him to the end. With the Psalmist I praise Him, for "my cup runneth over."