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WHAT DO YOU HOLD SACRED?

One of the most profound things I learned in graduate school was taught to me by one of my professors. He is now my Counselor Intern Supervisor, my mentor, and my good friend, Tom Moore. It was really more of a question than a profound fact to puzzle over.

On an essay final exam, he asked, "What do you hold sacred?" By "hold sacred" he meant "What is it that means so much to you that you would die for it? What is it in your life that means so much that you simply will not have it any other way?"

Once you can answer that question, you know the foundation of your value system. It is what you look to as your North Star to navigate your life by. When you come to the end of your life, you will judge yourself by how true you have been to this deepest and most treasured value.

In our world today, we are deluged with the thought that we must be tolerant. I believe that we should be tolerant of people, not of values that are inconsistent with God’s Truth. Many value lives of peace and prosperity -- peace meaning being allowed to enjoy our prosperity without interference. But this leaves us with a selfish outlook; what about those in this world who are less fortunate? Do we want to not be bothered by them either? And what of those who have valued peace above all else in history -- Neville Chamberlain gave away Europe’s chance to avoid WWII by his policy of appeasement. By valuing peace above freedom he gave away the world’s chance to have peace. Are peace and prosperity values that are to be held above all else? How do we order what’s important in life?

(From a sermon by Grant Sisson, "What Values Do You Hold Sacred?" 6/29/2009)

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