Your Values, Part 3: Do They Change Over Time?

Kayla paused as she removed the last picture from the office wall for her move to the suite upstairs. The photo of her and her college friends on graduation day was ten years old.

I’ve changed so much, Kayla thought. Back then, she was only interested in passing classes and getting the frat guys to look at her. If she’d given any thought to her values, she would have labeled them as “fun” and “attention.”

In the intervening decade, Kayla had worked hard and earned two promotions. But most importantly, she had become a Christ-follower.

Today, she was concerned about how to invest her skills to help others and in developing significant, genuine relationships. Intentionality and authenticity were among her closely-held values.

Kayla understood an important principle about her values: they had changed over time.

Biblical Values Are Constant

Biblical values provide the true measure when judging between right and wrong, good and bad, and how things should be. They form a foundation upon which we can make choices and live with purpose.

As time passes, do a Christ-follower’s values continue to change?

If you asked Kayla, she would say yes – with a qualifier. God’s values remain constant and timeless. Her personal values develop from season to season, depending upon opportunities God presents and her willingness to grow.

Personal Values Deepen Over Time

Therein lay the key: personal growth. A Christian’s salvation experience and ongoing relationship with God have the greatest influence in the development of her current set of values.

One of the main reasons Kayla sought out her newest job in the suite upstairs was to act on the core value of replication. She had grown professionally and personally to the point at which she was ready to invest in others. Her responsibilities would require her to invest in the company’s up-and-coming young leaders and multiply herself. She had identified one of her new core values – replication – while her current set grew deeper and more focused.

Kayla took a final glance around the room and at her calendar. As she set it in the moving box, she chuckled. It would be fun to see how God deepened her current values even further over the next ten years.