Have You Ever Chosen Who You Would Like to Become?

25 Sep Have You Ever Chosen Who You Would Like to Become?

WE CATCH OUR VALUES THE SAME WAY WE CATCH THE MEASLES

When I was in college, Francis Schaeffer, a noted American theologian and philosopher of the time, wrote that people get their values the same way they get the measles – by being around others who have them.

As a result, many people end up with values, which, upon further reflection, they might have chosen to avoid.

This hit me with thunderous impact because it was the first time I remember seeing my life objectively. For the first time, I was able to step outside myself and look at my life, almost as a third party.

For the first time, I saw that I had caught my values the same way I’d caught the measles. By being around others who had them.

I decided then and there that I would change and would choose my values rather than letting values choose me.

The thought occurred to me… What would I be like if I had been born into a different environment? What if, instead of being born into a family of modest means and education in a rural part of Indiana, I had been born into an affluent, highly educated family in Boston? Or into a blue-blooded family with a military background in Charleston, South Carolina? Or a politically powerful family in Southern California? Would I be different than I am now?

Absolutely! I would have had significantly different attitudes, values and behavior than the ones I grew up with.

We Can Choose What We Want to Become

Then, I was struck with a profoundly liberating idea. I could become who I wanted to be.

I could not undo history, I could not erase my heritage, and I could not change the past, but I did not have to be a slave to them.

I could choose to become the person I wanted to be. Specifically, I could choose my attitudes, values, and behavior – and I could begin to shore up my weaknesses and capitalize on my strengths.

If I thought I would be a better person for keeping helpful characteristics I grew up with, of which there were many, I could do so.

If I would be a better person for shedding some of my limiting characteristics and adopting some more helpful characteristics, I could do that.

I decided then and there that I was no longer going to be a cork floating down the stream of life, that I would choose my values rather than letting values choose me. It has been many years since then, and that decision has made all the difference.

We all have the choice, and it is never too soon or too late to make it. In fact, it is better than that, because Scripture informs us as to what we should be like, and the Holy Spirit will help us get there.

Powerful Influences on Values

To begin to take control of our value-acquisition process, we must recognize the powerful cultural sources from which we tend to get our values, of which electronic media is perhaps the most influential.

Perhaps the single greatest countering force is memorizing and meditating on Scripture and feeding our minds additional influences that support the values of Scripture – such as cultivating enriching friendships, reading good books, and engaging in other positive activities that support biblical values and offset unbiblical ones.

These two forces – electronic media and spiritual disciplines – may be the two most important influences shaping the lives of Christians.

We Must Guard Against Amusing Ourselves to Death

Some years ago, Neil Postman wrote an iconic book titled Amusing Ourselves to Death, which exposed the barrenness of modern culture. He made the case that because television is an entertainment medium, it has reduced news, politics, and religion to entertainment, robbing them of intellectual depth.

He demonstrated that only in the printed word can complicated truths be rationally conveyed. As a result, television encouraged shallow thinking.

Then he made a vital point: realizing that television has a profound negative influence on complex and deep thinking is the single most important factor in resisting its influence.

We Become What We Behold

Because we become what we behold, if we are not to be swept away from biblical attitudes, values and behavior into secular ones, we must choose what we want to become and we must behold the things that will get us there.

This means guarding our minds against negative input and opening our minds to positive input.

Have you ever honestly assessed why you have the values you do?  Have you ever evaluated them to see if there are some, which, upon further reflection, you would choose to avoid?

Even non-Christians can choose to become more than they are, but Christians have the profound advantage of the Scriptures to guide us and the Holy Spirit to enlighten and empower us to become more like Christ.  Why not chose today who you would like to become tomorrow?

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