Greater Than

Carrying your cross is greater than carrying your flag. (JT)

God’s love for you is greater than the shame you feel. (CK)

…the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

Greater than is an interesting phrase. We might think of it as a mathematical symbol. The values of the numbers we use are easy to determine greater than and less than. A number’s assigned value is absolute and cannot be argued.

Our personal values are a bit different. How do we assign value? How do we misplace or displace it? Determining the greater than in our lives isn’t all or nothing. We are not checking the box of the one thing that is important to us, what negates something else. It’s not multiple choice. But it is important to consider. What do we value, and how do our values reflect God’s values? When do we overemphasize something God minimally mentions and underemphasize what pervades his character? When do we lose focus on God just long enough to get distracted by the popular words and claims of the day? When do we follow people on social media more than we follow God? When do we determine some activities on our calendars are more important than our time with God? When do we determine we love the people closest to us more than we love God?

Examining our values and how they drive our thoughts and actions is challenging. I’m only introducing the challenge today and reserving the possibility of exploring it more in the future. For now, and often, ask yourself,

What do I value? What am I pushing aside? What is greater than what?