Should

None of us completely hold to the values or truths that we believe. And what I mean is that each one of us will tell ourselves that we ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ do gets ignored too often in our lives. I should exercise more. I shouldn’t eat all twelve donuts. I should send a care package to a local pastor who would be eternally grateful. I shouldn’t lose my temper.
And I know, those statements don’t mean that we have given up values or truths necessarily, but if we really thought something was valuable, like exercise and going to church, then why don’t we do them more often? Why do we use the word ‘should’ instead of ‘did’ or ‘going to’? It’s like Yoda says, “Do or do not, there is no try.”
And we live our lives in this split understanding of what we believe to be true, what we value and what we actually do in our lives. And it’s what we actually do that reveals the most about what we value and what we believe to be true.
Jesus tells this parable in Matthew 21.28-31 that goes like this:
“Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ‘I don't want to,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. ‘Yes, sir,’ he answered, but he did not go. Which one of the two did what his father wanted?” “The older one,” they answered.
Now, Jesus’ point here was that those who give lip service to God and only say that they’re going to do what he desires remain separated from God the Father as opposed to those who truly choose to Jesus even if their lives aren’t perfect, they will be united with God eternally.
And that’s essential to know. Salvation, being united with God through Jesus, comes to anyone who accepts Jesus, no matter if that’s immediately or if they change their mind later. But it’s also important to note that there’s value in living out what we believe to be true and best beyond salvation.
And so my point here is that we figure out what we truly value. And by that I don’t mean sit down and write a list from your head. What I encourage us to do is actually look at our lives and see what we value. Where is our time spent? What gets most of our attention? Who gets most of our attention? Do we neglect tasks or relationships in favor of something else?
And once we have that list, we might be surprised where our focus truly lies. And instead of justifying it, maybe we can start to adjust our list to be more about those things we truly value instead, especially relationships. I pray that we can be honest and purposeful in this. God bless.