Values and Priorities: A LearnWell Values Course,8-11

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The Bible Dialog Institute presents:

Values and Priorities

Applying the Central Values of the Sermon on the Mount

Values and Priorities is an online course and require only Internet and email access. You may study anytime, anywhere, 24/7. No textbooks are needed. The Value Series consists of four courses V101, V102, V103, BV104. These courses are free, but to get a Continuing Education Certificate, there is a fee. Do not submit attachments and do not cut and past from other sources.

You will discover that many of your troubles stem from the fact that you live by values that are in conflict with those of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is the center of a values-system that leads out of trouble.

8 Undivided Loyalty, Matt. 6:19-24

David told me recently that he did not make God first. He had some investments and hobbies that sometimes took precedence over his worship and Bible study. David was a Christian that lived his Christianity, was a good family man, and supported his church with his attendance, work and funds. Most people considered him a wonderful unselfish person. And in most ways he was. Still, he felt that he was serving two masters, that he had divided loyalties. He knew God well enough to realize that God, by His very nature as God, had to be first in his life, or He really was not his God.

The values in this section include loyalty and focusedness. Accept the fact that you cannot serve two masters. And then fully enjoy your service to your one Master.

David was laying up treasures on earth and in heaven. His heart was divided between his earthy treasures and interests and his faith. He would have been surprised if someone would have called him a materialist. But it were these material concerns that at times held him back from his spiritual ones. He could not trust God fully to take care of all his needs and life. He wanted a back-up, in case God did not come through. In reality, he placed an equal faith in his God and his back-up. That is what God could not accept.

Matt 6: 19-24. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,...
but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven...
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also...
No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other
or else he will be loyal to the one, and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and materialism.

David's heart was on earth. A divided heart always falls back to earth. Only a focused heart, free from anger, fear, love of possessions and pride, can soar up to God and remain in His presence. When the Holy Spirit enters a person He brings along major changes; He brings along a new heart. The ground for anger disappears, and there is forgiveness. The fear of failure vanishes, and there is trust. The love of possessions is no longer there, he holds them loosely and realizes that he will have to give them up, sooner or later. His pride is gone, and humility replaces it. His life focuses on the presence of God, and there he comes to rest.

There can only be one set of treasures, and that is the set in heaven. Those who desire two sets are in trouble. The investor may be able to manage well only one fund. If he tries to divide his time between two funds of very different natures, he may fail in both. It is not possible to be both spiritual and materialistic.

Respond to the True-and False questions. They may also serve as basis for further thinking and discussion. The questions are based on the above Bible passages.

1Earthly treasures are risky mainly because of thieves and rust.
2 Our main priority shows the nature of the core of our being.
3 It is possible to be very spiritual and very rich.
4 Most business is based on materialism.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What is the difference between frugal, stingy, economical and saving?

4. How does materialism ( including credit cards) become such an enslaving master?

9 Worry and Priorities, Matt 6:25-34

Worry is an expression of a continuous fear for the future. When you worry, you think that something bad is going to happen, and that you will suffer. It seems that you can do nothing about it. The Sermon on the Mount is about a God who takes away fear and in its stead implants a trust that God takes care of you. All at once, there is a realization that all the important matters are looked after. There is nothing left to fear. There is now nothing to worry about.

The values of this section include trust and purposefulness. Talk trust. Talk positiveness, and the molehills in front of you will not rise up to stop you.

Carol was worried. There appeared no way out. Her marriage was falling apart. Her children were distant. She barely had an income. She could not see where she was heading. Before her loomed one disaster after another. Carol felt that she had cause to worry. And she did. But her worry would not improve her circumstances. It would only make them harder. Her God knows her troubles. And if she can trust Him, she can believe that He will not let her go under but see her through the difficult times and places to the end.

Matt 6: 25-33... Do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink,
nor about your body, what you will put on it.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
...Which of you can by worrying add one cubit to his statue?

MacArthur (p. 418) lists four reasons why worry is wrong: 1) It is unfaithful because of our Master. 2) It is unnecessary because of our Father. 3) It is unreasonable because of our faith. 4) It is unwise because of our future.

The opposite of worry is trust and assurance. Without trust in God, problems ahead seem insurmountable. With God, they still may seem large, but now they are viewed from a new perspective. They are now not the primary concern of life that blots out everything else. With God first in life, all else is secondary. Even the problems.

Howard was interested in everything. He has many projects going that he could never finish any if them. He would jump from one thing to another and find a new all-consuming interest every month. He had no life priorities. One day he got sick and was confined to his bed for two weeks. He had time to think. He had time to review his life and note where he was coming from and where he was going. He realized that, with his multitude of projects, he was not going anywhere. He listed all his interests and tried to place them in some kind of order. Thus emerged his list of priorities. For this year, he chose to follow only his first three priorities. The others could wait.

Matt 6: 33. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.

Happiness is not something you get by seeking. It is a byproduct of a rich, productive life. In a similar sense, peace of mind, faith, and love are not something that come to you by looking for them. They are byproducts of a life dedicated to God. They are not obtainable by self-discipline, study or self-denial. They come as a result of a close walk with God. If that close walk with God does not come first, nothing of real worth comes second.

Respond to the True-and False questions. They may also serve as basis for further thinking and discussion. The questions are based on the above Bible passages.

1Worry has some important beneficial effects.
2Seeking God's kingdom and His righteousness are the same.
3God feeds only those who seek His kingdom and righteousness.
4By definition, you can have only one life priority.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What are the differences between concern, worry, anxiety and anxiety disorders?

There is scarcely any one sin against which our Lord Jesus more largely and earnestly warns his disciples, or against which he arms them with more variety of arguments, than the sin of disquieting, distracting, distrustful cares about the things of life, which are a bad sign that both the treasure and the heart are on the earth; and therefore he thus largely insists upon it. Here is,

I. The prohibition laid down. It is the counsel and command of the Lord Jesus, that we take no thought about the things of this world; I say unto you. He says it as our Lawgiver, and the Sovereign of our hearts; he says it as our Comforter, and the Helper of our joy. What is it that he says? It is this, and he that hath ears to hear, let him hear it. Take no thought for your life, nor yet for your body (v. 25). Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? (v. 31) and again (v. 34), Take no thought, meµ merimnate—Be not in care. As against hypocrisy, so against worldly cares, the caution is thrice repeated, and yet no vain repetition: precept must be upon precept, and line upon line, to the same purport, and all little enough; it is a sin which doth so easily beset us. It intimates how pleasing it is to Christ, and of how much concern it is to ourselves, that we should live without carefulness. It is the repeated command of the Lord Jesus to his disciples, that they should not divide and pull in pieces their own minds with care about the world. There is a thought concerning the things of this life, which is not only lawful, but duty, such as is commended in the virtuous woman. See Prov. 27:23. The word is used concerning Paul’s care of the churches, and Timothy’s care for the state of souls, 2 Co. 11:28; Phil. 2:20.

But the thought here forbidden is, 1. A disquieting, tormenting thought, which hurries the mind hither and thither, and hangs it in suspense; which disturbs our joy in God, and is a damp upon our hope in him; which breaks the sleep, and hinders our enjoyment of ourselves, of our friends, and of what God has given us. 2. A distrustful, unbelieving thought. God has promised to provide for those that are his all things needful for life as well as godliness, the life that now is, food and a covering: not dainties, but necessaries. He never said, "They shall be feasted,’’ but, "Verily, they shall be fed.’’ Now an inordinate care for time to come, and fear of wanting those supplies, spring from a disbelief of these promises, and of the wisdom and goodness of Divine Providence; and that is the evil of it. As to present sustenance, we may and must use lawful means to get it, else we tempt God; we must be diligent in our callings, and prudent in proportioning our expenses to what we have, and we must pray for daily bread; and if all other means fail, we may and must ask relief of those that are able to give it. He was none of the best of men that said, To beg I am ashamed (Lu. 16:3); as he was, who (v. 21) desired to be fed with the crumbs; but for the future, we must cast our care upon God, and take no thought, because it looks like a jealousy of God, who knows how to give what we want when we know not now to get it. Let our souls dwell at ease in him! This gracious carelessness is the same with that sleep which God gives to his beloved, in opposition to the worldling’s toil, Ps. 127:2. Observe the cautions here,

(1.) Take no thought for your life. Life is our greatest concern for this world; All that a man has will he give for his life; yet take no thought about it. [1.] Not about the continuance of it; refer it to God to lengthen or shorten it as he pleases; my times are in thy hand, and they are in a good hand. [2.] Not about the comforts of this life; refer it to God to embitter or sweeten it as he pleases. We must not be solicitous, no not about the necessary support of this life, food and raiment; these God has promised, and therefore we may more confidently expect; say not, What shall we eat? It is the language of one at a loss, and almost despairing; whereas, though many good people have the prospect of little, yet there are few but have present support.

(2.) Take no thought for the morrow, for the time to come. Be not solicitous for the future, how you shall live next year, or when you are old, or what you shall leave behind you. As we must not boast of to-morrow, so we must not care for to-morrow, or the events of it.

II. The reasons and arguments to enforce this prohibition. One would think the command of Christ was enough to restrain us from this foolish sin of disquieting, distrustful care, independently of the comfort of our own souls, which is so nearly concerned; but to show how much the heart of Christ is upon it, and what pleasures he takes in those that hope in his mercy, the command is backed with the most powerful arguments. If reason may but rule us, surely we shall ease ourselves of these thorns. To free us from anxious thoughts, and to expel them, Christ here suggests to us comforting thoughts, that we may be filled with them. It will be worth while to take pains with our own hearts, to argue them out of their disquieting cares, and to make ourselves ashamed of them. They may be weakened by right reason, but it is by an active faith only that they can be overcome. Consider then,

1. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? v. 25. Yes, no doubt it is; so he says who had reason to understand the true value of present things, for he made them, he supports them, and supports us by them; and the thing speaks for itself. Note, (1.) Our life is a greater blessing than our livelihood. It is true, life cannot subsist without a livelihood; but the meat and raiment which are here represented as inferior to the life and body are such as are for ornament and delight; for about such as are for ornament ad delight; for about such we are apt to be solicitous. Meat and raiment are in order to life, and the end is more noble and excellent than the means. The daintiest food and finest raiment are from the earth, but life from the breath of God. Life is the light of men; meat is but the oil that feeds that light: so that the difference between rich and poor is very inconsiderable, since, in the greatest things, they stand on the same level, and differ only in the less. (2.) This is an encouragement to us to trust God for food and raiment, and so to ease ourselves of all perplexing cares about them. God has given us life, and given us the body; it was an act of power, it was an act of favour, it was done without our care: what cannot he do for us, who did that?—what will he not? If we take care about our souls and eternity, which are more than the body, and its life, we may leave it to God to provide for us food and raiment, which are less. God has maintained our lives hitherto; if sometimes with pulse and water, that has answered the end; he has protected us and kept us alive. He that guards us against the evils we are exposed to, will supply us with the good things we are in need of. If he had been pleased to kill us, to starve us, he would not so often have given his angels a charge concerning us to keep us. Source: Mathew Henry

10 Criticizing, Matt 7:1-6

The inner man is either at peace or at war with God. If he is at peace, all things flow together into one whole that is comfortable and empowering. If he is at war, many things rub him the wrong way and frustrate him. A critical spirit sees something wrong in most situations and focuses on that wrong. A person at peace with God may see the same wrong but the wrong is not central, it is a subject of prayer that God can take care of.

The values of this section include generosity and respect. Count your arrows before you shoot them at others. You are responsible for each one of them, for each discouraging word. Ask yourself if you really want to harm others.

Ralph was a very critical person. He prided himself in being able to evaluate situations and behaviors. But what started as simple evaluations became an obsession. Pretty soon, nothing measured up to the imaginary high standards Ralph placed for other people. Their standards were not for him, they were only for others. Thus Ralph slowly destroyed his relationships with the people around him. Ralph needed healing.

Criticism has been defined as tending to judge harshly and adversely. It is the harshness and the adversity that is the evil in criticism, not the act of discriminating between good and evil. That discriminating is essential for life, but its primary focus should be on a person's own behavior, not someone else's. When criticism becomes central and focused on other people, it destroys relationships. After we have taken care of our own problems, God's love lets us look at the problems of others only in a kind and loving way.

Matt 7:1-6. Judge not, that you be not judged,
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.
And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye,
but do not consider the speck in your own eye?
...First remove the plank from your own eye...

Every problem confronts us with choices of attitudes and behaviors. A problem can first be viewed positively or negatively, something to be solved or something to be dreaded because it will destroy you. Problems are either normal parts of life or obstacles to life. You can blame persons for the problems and lose all love, or you can love the other person so much that the problem becomes secondary. Condemnations and harsh criticism are not helpful. Working on a joint solution to the problem is helpful.

Respond to the True-and False questions. They may also serve as basis for further thinking and discussion. The questions are based on the above Bible passages.

1 All criticism and judging is here condemned.
2 Critics are blinded by their own shortcomings .
3 The text under consideration deals also with self-criticism.
4 Harsh criticism effects our relationship with God and others.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. How can you help someone who does wrong and not criticize?

2. Is there a common relationship between others' problems and our own? Explain

11. Interdependence, Matt 7:7-14

The inner man is totally dependent on the sustaining power of God. But God also makes His work on earth dependent on the work of His followers. Thus God and you become interdependent. You depend on Him, and He depends on you. We can choose to live independently from God, and God can choose to work independently from us. Thus this interdependence with God is our free choice. Once we recognize our total dependence on God, He can work His good works through us.

The values of this section include sharing and consideration. Let your mind wander into the heavens. Mediate on God's goodness to you. And pray for the ones you try to help.

Sandra was a very independent person. She did not like anyone to tell her what to do. She paid her bills, and avoided credit. She did her work, and avoided being indebted to others. Her emotional life suffered and soon she found her satisfaction not in her friendships, but in her bottles of wine. Sandra became dependent on alcohol. After taking a course like this, she realized her dependence on God. And as God helped her clean up her life, God made Himself dependent on her good witness.

We can be dependent, independent, or interdependent in our relationships to others. Dependency is a one-way street, where someone or something takes control of us, and we give up control. An independent person, on the other hand, takes full control of his life, and is not dependent on anyone or anything. In reality, no one can be truly independent. Interdependence is a mutual relationship where both partners realize that they need each other and can benefit from the give and take that makes a close relationship.

There is a wonderful give and take in healthy relationships. There is trouble if there is more take than give. In the long run, we cannot control the behaviors of other adults. But we can create a friendly atmosphere that will stimulate the friendly behavior of others. Thus the Golden Rule invites you to act with the utmost consideration of the needs of others.

Matt 7:7-12. Ask, and it will be given to you...for everyone who asks, receives...
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.
Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.

The Sermon on the Mount recognizes that there is no such thing as unlimited freedom. Freedom, in order to provide open choices, plays by some set rules. These rules mark some behaviors off limit. For example, your freedom ends where another person's freedom begins. You may freely swing your arms, but if your fist comes in contact with someone's nose, you have violated that other person's freedom. You are in difficulty.

Freedom recognizes laws. God's laws are like the road guards that line the highway and keep you from wandering into the ditch. They are protective devices. At times, they make the road appear narrow and difficult. But the alternatives, like crashing in the ditch, are much worse. The way to life is at times difficult, but it leads to a place that is beyond difficulties.

Matt 7: 13, 14. Enter by the narrow gate...
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life
and there are few that find it.

The Golden Rule is often considered the essence of the Sermon of the Mount. Act the way you want others to act towards you. Love others, so that it will be easy for others to love you. On the surface, this all seems manipulative. But it is impossible to use the Golden Rule to make others do what you want them to do. The Golden Rule invites us to let God's love flow through us so that it may water others and thus build relationships of love. Only thus the good we have done returns to us as good.

Respond to the True-and False questions. They may also serve as basis for further thinking and discussion. The questions are based on the above Bible passages.

1Giving gifts, without expecting returns, is a normal act of loving people.
2It is acceptable to make requests to God for things you need and lack.
3You mainly do what you want others to do to you.
4Living by values limits your life.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Why is submission to God necessary for living by the Golden Rule?

4. In what sense is the narrow gate and the eye of the needle similar/dissimilar?

V101 Values for Life Out of Trouble, an Introduction	Matthew 4-8
Eight Ways to the Good Life	Matthew 5:1-12, 13-20
V102 Values and Difficulties Living with Difficulties	Matthew 5:21-32, 33-48
Giving, Praying and Fasting	Matthew 6:1-4, 5-18
V103 Values and Priorities Priorities: The Good and the Best	Matthew 6: 19-24, 25-34
Reaching out the Wrong & Right Way	Matthew 7:1-6, 7-14
V104 Values in Actions Good Words versus Good Actions	Matthew 7:15-23
Toward a New Value-system	Matthew 7:24-27 & summary

1. ANGER, buried or active >>> forgive	3. LOVE of possessions >> hold them loosely
2. FEAR of failure >>> trust	4. PRIDE >>> become humble
5. AN UNFOCUSED LIFE, where anything can become a priority >>> rest in God's care

1. BIBLE TEXT: In-depth Word-study	4. What results are expected? (Application)
2. BIBLE CONTEXT: Cross-references	5. How are these results achieved?
3. BIBLE CONCEPTS: Meaning of texts	6. How are these results verified?

1. BIBLE TEXT: In-depth Word-study	4. What results are expected? (Application)
2. BIBLE CONTEXT: Cross-references	5. How are these results achieved?
3. BIBLE CONCEPTS: Meaning of texts	6. How are these results verified?

1. BIBLE TEXT: In-depth Word-study	4. What results are expected? (Application)
2. BIBLE CONTEXT: Cross-references	5. How are these results achieved?
3. BIBLE CONCEPTS: Meaning of texts	6. How are these results verified?

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The Bible Dialog Institute presents:

Values and Priorities

Applying the Central Values of the Sermon on the Mount

The Good and the Best

8 Undivided Loyalty, Matt. 6:19-24

9 Worry and Priorities, Matt 6:25-34

Reaching out the Wrong & Right Way

10 Criticizing, Matt 7:1-6

11. Interdependence, Matt 7:7-14