Youth Group

Our local Youth Group invited me to answer the question: What does it mean to be a Christian?

What do you value?

Family and friendship

If I was to ask you what is really important to you, what would be your answer? I’m guessing that Family and friends would be more important than money. What values do you think are important? What do you think about the following values?

• Show honour to those that care for you and raise you

• Respect everyone's right to live

• Respect relationships with one another - don't cheat in relationships or hurt others

• Don't take what is not yours

• Speak the truth and do not gossip

• Be content with what you have - don't always want what others have.

A Values game

Get seven pieces of paper and write something that is really important to you on each piece of paper. It might be your teddy bear, chocolate, Mum & Dad, your best friend, God, Church, your car, your job, your health.

Now in this game tragedy strikes your life and you lose two pieces of paper. Which two will you give up? Some examples in our youth group were: TV, Chocolate, Cricket, loyalty.

Then tragedy strikes again and you have to hand over 3 more pieces of paper. Some examples from our youth group were: Mum, Dad, friends that had been named, Church, and Education.

What two pieces are left? This time, the examples were: God, Church family, Wife, a specific friend, Youth group.

Why did you choose to keep them? How did you feel about having to give up five really important things?

God’s Values

God expresses his values for the world in the Bible (Deuteronomy 5:16-21).

• ¹⁶ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

• ¹⁷     ‘You shall not murder.

• ¹⁸     ‘You shall not commit adultery.

• ¹⁹     ‘You shall not steal.

• ²⁰     ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

• ²¹     ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

Notice that your values are the same as God’s values. This is not an accident. God made you and imprinted his values on your soul, he put them in your heart (Romans 2:15-16). Everyone knows it’s wrong to steal and to lie and to cheat.

People choose to break their values (and God’s): they steal, murder, lie and cheat—and sometimes it seems that it doesn’t worry them. But steal something from a thief, and cheat a con-man and you will see that they do know it’s wrong.