By Pastor Andrew Farland
In life, it’s essential to identify the core values you’re going to live by. You at least need to come up with a slogan that defines who you are.
Slogans have determined the plans and decisions of Presidents. The slogan becomes the filter by which they make decisions, and every President has had one.
For example, John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” The current President coined the slogan, “Make America great again.”
Medical doctors promise to uphold a critical tenet of the Hippocratic Oath: “First, do no harm.” These four words are supposed to guide their recommendations for inpatient care.
What slogan guides you?
If you don’t have one yet, create your own filter by deciding what you stand for.
It was the first U. S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who said, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” You must have a core belief that will guide you in your decision-making process.
Once you identify your slogan, keep your mission and vision statement right in front of you. There will be times you must make decisions, and you won’t know what to do. Placing your priorities in the forefront will help you make good choices.
The other day I had a potentially messy situation involving a lot of people.
I didn’t want to offend anyone. I wanted to do the right thing. I turned to my priorities, my mission statement, and then the decisions were easy to make because I knew where I was headed. I knew what the outcome had to be.
For you today, your slogan or mission statement might be, “Love God and love people,” or a question like, “Will this make me more Christ-like?”
Listen to whatever God has put on your heart. Set your core values and mission by His word. Make sure that whatever you choose is Biblical.
Always align yourself with God’s word. His word will always be relevant regardless of current cultural norms or Presidents in office.
Then make your decisions based on your mission and vision so that you can keep God’s statutes and seek Him with all your heart.
Proverbs 119: 2
“Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.”
Be encouraged today because God is with you.
