Agape Values Immersion

Introduction The United States of America’s 2020 Presidential election has been the most contentious challenge of values this nation has faced since the Civil Rights challenges of the 1960's. There could not be two different styles of communication, attitudes about justice, approaches to problem solving, and the list goes on. The volume of ballots submitted by the people was astounding. In the end, the people of America chose the President, whose system of values reflects the direction the majority of voters want America to move toward, for at least the next four years. America, chose agape and reconciliation over confrontation and bullying. Value 101: Who do you love? The human life is lived by balancing goals, desires, attitudes and values. Our social yardstick suggest the most successful, popular and/or prosperous of us have well done so with clarity and organization. Dreams, day or otherwise, are things, relationships and experiences we hope for. Goals are things, relationships and experiences we plan for, ideally written down with detail steps for accomplishment with stages, specific target and completion dates for each step. Attitudes are habits of thought. In a few pages we will show you how you can refine and revise your attitudes to improve achieving your goals. Values are multi-leveled opinions of merit. Your values were first organic - environmentally imposed on your by your formative years (in home or institution). You had almost no choice since you were born into said environment. The TV, radio, music, neighbors, neighborhood, friends, classmates, eventually work place, etc. all shaped, enhanced or confronted and confused your values. They either strengthened your will and character or they weakened your self image and psyche. You are who you are to the degree you resist being controlled by the crowd. I am writing to encourage you to look closely at your values and help you become more of a person of faith. Or would you rather be an everyday typical human being, or another self serving, hard pounding North American. I encourage you to be the best person you can be, by avoiding the temptation to try to pick and choose values from among Agape, Human and North American values. Doing so leads down the path to self destruction. A few more words on nomenclature. Wherever I use the word: ● Attitude, I am referring the average persons habits of thought. Outgoing, reserved, intimate, hostile or any variation of the above. They all imply the individual’s attitudes. ● Values are considered assessments of worth. From the value of a glance, to the sympathy at a funeral, we all have systems of values. They measure the individual’s personal world view. ● Dream or wish is a desired environment pleasing to the beholder. ● Goal is a clear and specific desired actions or transaction which we strategically plan to achieve over real obstacles. A dream is nebulous while a goal is specific, ideally written down with detailed action steps, start and target completion dates and with an end-game assessment of the quality of achievement. ● Affirmation is an present tense, positive statement, of a desired attitude or behavior, as if in ongoing usage. Carefully crafted affirmations become exceptional tools in reprogramming our subconscious attitudes and our values. Lastly, ● World View is the collective attitudes of a person, significant group, community, country or consortium of countries. Whenever I refer to Christians I am including all Jews who also have the Holy Spirit in their hearts. We are a Judeo-Christian faith as detailed in the Holy Bible. When you examine the Table of Comparable Values you could say the collection of Agape Values represent the World View of maturing Christians. I am avoiding other social cultures as being beyond the scope of this values project. 1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 Jn 4:1The Value of Values During the 2020 USA Presidential debates we saw an attitude of reconciliation confronted by an attitude of belligerence. Post election we see an attitude of problem solving opposed to an attitude of defiance. Attitudes are critical as they form the basis of how we overcome challenges, obstacles, and achieve our goals. Consider attitudes as the construct we use to form, shape and develop our values. Our values form the basis for how we record the experiences that inform our attitudes. Think synergy, not symbiosis. When values and attitudes work together, for the common good exceptional benefits exceed our dreams! This book hopes to clarify the Agape Values that reflect people committed to God, as they compare to basic Human Values and North American Values. It should be no surprise that Agape Values guide those of us who strive to live lives pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Human values reflect the global self serving way we consume God’s creation and as we justify the way we satisfy our needs. North American values are built around our unbridled worldview of becoming ‘king of the hill,’ and to hell with all those who stand in our way. Agape Values differ significantly from global Human Values and radically different compared to North American Values. We hope this book will help Christians grow more Christ like with every breath we take. During my ordination I was asked if I was “moving on to perfection.” I was totally committed, emotionally engaged, and determined to be the best motivating Pastor I could be. Yet only Jesus Christ lived sinless on earth. Several years later there was an instant when I slipped back into an old behavior pattern; My old Human Values slipped in. As I processed my failure, I heard Jesus say: “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Lk. 9:62Oh my God, did that hurt! Yet, thanks be to God, what a set back. It put me back on the right track - moving on to perfection in Christ Jesus. I immediately took my punishment which included leaving what I loved and starting down a different path. I have been forgiven, although forgiving myself is still a daily struggle. If you have ever disappointed a loved one, you know how I feel. But the pain got my attention. If we are continually striving to be ‘Christ like,’ we wont get lazy and slip back into old behaviors. Like Paul, let’s keep working until He calls us home. We can use basic Behavior Modification Techniques (BMT), like reciting positive mental attitude affirmations, to fill our subconscious mind, working to generate the wholesome behaviors Jesus lived by. The chart of Agape (Christian) Values is given as a resource inviting you to create your own affirmations of Christ like behaviors. I don’t want anyone else to lose their way and backslide into their old system of values and the negative attitudes that disrupt them. 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Mt 22:36We must trust God, believe there is eternity where we will either inherit new, angel like bodies or suffer agonies beyond measure with Satan and his demons, eternally separated from God, in a lake of fire. What influences our eternity are the values we choose to guide us. They begin with obedience to God. Agape Values are derived from Mt. 22:37-40. The commandment couplet is love based. Sincere love for God is our first and most important value. Typically we cherish what we love. Devout devotion for our Creator should be our first and most important love. Our obedience to God reflects perfect love for our God. In contrast, Human Values and North American Values are predominately self fulfillment based. For them, love is at best tangential. This will be made clear in our comparable values table. Agape is both a gift of the Holy Spirit and fruit of the Spirit’s productivity in our lives.