I have read several articles in the last week that have made me think about value. What does it mean to have value and in today's society. I think that sometimes we fear that what we have placed value in isn't valuable after all. Thus if someone tells us that they value something else then we have vitriolic response. We write their thoughts and feelings off as crazy and not worth the listen. Maybe we assume they are uneducated or too educated to get it. However there are somethings of value that are unchanging but there are other things that are valued differently by different people and that is okay.
You may not may not like my list but here it is things of value that are unchanging. First, is our value to God. He gave up His only son for us so we as human beings are valuable. Truth is valuable and unchanging. This is what makes it valuable; truth is unchanging. I am not going to get into what is truth but let us simply say that truth is absolute. Love without motives is valuable and unchanging. Justice is valuable if imperfect. We could probably go on but you get the idea.
Now comes things that are important but shouldn't be more valuable but sometimes are placed in that spot. Maybe it is staying home with our children or being in the workforce. Both valuable and both should not be demeaned. But often those on either side make one or other so valuable that they are willing to call names at the other side or demean or write off what they do as nothing.
Maybe you recycle or don't recycle and you have written those that do as crazy tree huggers or nasty industrialists. But if you look beyond the name calling you can find value in both sides as long as you keep the things of true value at the top of the list you can see value in those who choose to do something different from you.
The government shutdown has brought out all types of name calling. Each side writing the other off as crazy tea partiers and those crazy liberals. I don't have a problem with each side standing their ground but writing each other off is where I have the problem. The articles we read and the news we hear is not whether they are doing what is best for the country but who is going to be blamed and who wins.
Debate has value and differing views have value but please do it with respect. If we don't, we stop listening to each other. Each of us has value that is in the unchanging. We owe it to each other to listen to each other and understand we may or may not move them. We also need to remember our value is not decreased if we have not moved the other person to our side. But if we have listened and they have listened this has value.
