Foundational Values

We all have our own view of origins and how it plays out in our life and relationship with others. Our foundational values come from our belief in the origin of the universe, life congruence and character lived out in service. These foundational values definitely shape our worldview, which will play an important role in our lives.

In Genesis 1:1, it states, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” I believe that it is through God that we are here today. He was there at the beginning and He will be there at the end. When God was creating the earth, the whole world listened to His commands, which demonstrates the power and the authority God has over everything in the world.

I believe that there is an intelligent design. God created this world with a purpose. If he had no purpose in creating the world, he would not even have created us and other living things. All the events that occur in the world are all part of God’s intelligent design. These events are very cohesive in that it all leads to one purpose: to show God’s overwhelming power and love for us. I think that I am an intentional result of God’s design because God placed me into this world to serve Him and for His purpose. Faith is a universal call to everyone to trust their God as their Caller. When we are called my God to do something for Him, we must immediately take action. “Verb faith” is an important part of this ongoing discovery because through faith, we start to believe. As a Christian, faith is an essential element in our lives. God is not visible. We can’t touch Him or see His face, but the reason why we trust Him to carry our burdens and lead us through hardships is because we have faith that He is real. Faith is a feeling that helps us realize that we are in this world because we have a purpose in life. We must search for the plan that God has ready for us, and therefore carry it out for His kingdom and His glory. Life congruence is when our worldview and the way we act are ‘congruent’, meaning that our values and our actions match up.

Life congruence begins with discovering our beliefs and living out those values. Once these core values and beliefs are realized, we start to begin putting these beliefs into action. Character is fully realized when we implement what we have determined to do in all aspects of life. Therefore, life congruence is our capacity to determine how the universal principles of our faith should be applied to our values and our actions. My life’s actions definitely reflect my faith concerning how I got here. Actions speak louder than words. Actions are a big part of everyone’s lives. It reveals to everyone around us who we are as a person and who the real ‘me’ is. Through the way we act around our friends and family members, our faith and beliefs tend to be reflected. For example, I believe that we are here because God put us in this world for a reason. In order to search for that reason that is designated for me, I will read the Bible, pray and worship God to find it. I believe that finding my purpose in life, living a congruent life and serving the people around me is the reason why I am here today. In James 2:14-15, it states, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Can that faith save him?” Without action, what we say about our faith is not real. Jesus specifically commands His disciples to go out and spread God’s word about eternal life in heaven. If the disciples just believed that God was real and did nothing about it, then they would not have made their way into heaven. With the consistent and interrelated unification of action and faith, we are to live our lives congruently for God. Service is the universal call from God to everyone to serve others. It is when we decide to submit ourselves in helping and aiding those in need. Service is not performed for others to see; rather it is a doing for ourselves. It begins with our capacity to respect others in a spirit of community. Then, it is fully realized when we take action of character that are later carried out with a sense of concern and responsibility for others. There are many times when we are forced to serve the people around us; at school, students are sent on missions trips to other third-world countries and at home, parents expect their children to participate in service events so that they could learn about the different environments around them.

This is not a true way of serving those around us. Service is divided into three levels, servitude, service and servant hood. Instead of being forced to serve or decide to serve others, we should enter servant hood, which is the attitudinal act of serving another person. Servant hood has played a big role in teaching us to value our lives and to be thankful for what we have. Life calling cannot be discovered if we do not have the heart to serve the people around us. I place great value in the people around me. I believe that friends and family are very important factors in my life because they teach me new things every day. My friends teach me to be myself and to further extend my knowledge about the world and the people around me. My family teaches me to trust myself and believe that I will do well in whatever I do. Through these daily lessons, I gradually developed my skills for serving and respecting the people around me. Even the smallest act of kindness towards another person becomes a big impact in my life. Buying a drink for a friend, waiting for a classmate, holding books for a teacher, printing paper out for parents, etc; these deeds all add up as ingredients for the recipe of servant hood.

My life’s actions towards others definitely reflect the value I place in others around me. It is part of my human nature to judge and to place a certain ‘grade’ or ‘rank’ on others. Whenever I meet someone new, I look at their outward appearance and analyze the way they talk and behave around me. After spending a few minutes with that person, I will make a reaction. If I like the person, then I will place great value in them by treating them nicely and being friendly. However, if I don’t like the person, then I will place low value and behave indifferently around them. The origin of the universe causes us to think about where we are from and what our purpose in life is. Character and life congruence shows that our life actions reflect our faith concerning how we got here. Lastly, character lived out in service allows us to see how much value we place in the others around us and how our life’s actions toward others reflect that value. By exploring different aspects of the origin of the universe, character and life congruence and character lived out in service, we are able to see how these factors play a big role in our life and relationship with others.