Values and Purpose: The Interplay that Shapes Our Lives

In a world where wealth often dictates success and fulfillment, it is crucial to recognize that true contentment lies in aligning our values with our purpose. Wealth should be viewed as a tool—an enabler for impact—rather than an end goal that can distort our priorities and identity. This understanding justifies our right of possession. By reflecting on our core values and understanding their relationship with our purpose, we can navigate the complexities of life with clarity and intention. This journey begins with self-reflection, allowing us to discover who we are meant to be and the meaningful contributions we are called to make in the world.

We will start by answering this question— Why should money be treated as a tool, not an end goal?

When money becomes the focus, it starts controlling your decisions, shifts your priorities, and distorts the core values that once guided you. True fulfillment doesn’t come from what you accumulate—it comes from who you become in the process.

How do you manage wealth without letting it master you?

It all starts with a mindset shift. See wealth as a resource to fuel impact, not a measure of your worth. When you align wealth with purpose and values, you can create opportunities, invest in meaningful ventures, and uplift others—without letting it redefine who you are.

However, many of us struggle to clearly define our values.

Understanding Value and Purpose

Value and purpose are closely related but distinct concepts. Your value often reflects your unique qualities, skills, or contributions, while your purpose is your deeper sense of direction or meaning in life.

While your value can influence your purpose by emphasizing your strengths or guiding you to where you can make the most impact, it doesn’t fully determine your purpose; however, it could lead you to it.

Purpose is often more aligned with personal convictions, passions, and long-term goals—perhaps something you can satisfactorily engage with for the rest of your life.

For example, someone may have a valuable skill in teaching, but their purpose might extend beyond just teaching to empowering others to realize their potential.

In essence, value supports purpose, but your purpose is shaped by a broader understanding of your life goals, passions, and the impact you wish to make.

The Importance of Having a Well-defined Value

Without knowing what truly guides you, it’s easy to let external forces—like the pursuit of money—shape your decisions. This leads to confusion and choices that don’t align with who you want to become.

Defining your value is a crucial step toward finding a meaningful purpose. When you identify your strengths, talents, and the unique qualities you bring to the world, you gain clarity about where you can contribute most effectively.

This self-awareness helps align your purpose with your true abilities and will make your journey more authentic and fulfilling—not tossed around by anyone's opinion of you.

In other words, knowing your value gives you a foundation to build upon, guiding you toward a purpose that feels both meaningful and achievable.

It enables you to focus your energy on areas where you can have the most significant impact, which leads to a more purposeful and rewarding life.

Steps to Define your Values—

Defining your values involves self-reflection and understanding what matters most to you in life. Values are the principles and beliefs that guide your behaviour, decisions, and interactions.

Here's a step-by-step approach to help define your values—

1. Reflect on Key Experiences

Think about moments in your life when you felt fulfilled, proud, or truly happy. You might need to go as far back as your childhood days; I mean your moments of innocence. What was happening during those moments? These experiences often reveal what you value most—whether they are relationships, personal growth, creativity, or service to others.

2. Identify What Energizes You

Pay 100% attention to the activities, projects, or conversations that give you a sense of purpose or excitement. The things that energize you are often aligned with your core values because they connect deeply with your natural inclinations and passions. If you are following along right now, you should be feeling some excitement as you remember a relaxing conversation you once had or the time-consuming, selfless support you rendered.

3. Examine Your Beliefs

Consider the beliefs you hold about life, success, and happiness. Ask yourself questions like:

• What principles do I stand by, no matter what?
• What qualities do I admire in others? (They must be positively constructive qualities.)
• What drives my decision-making in tough situations? (The impulsive reaction— a response to a situation without careful thought— speaks volumes about who you are.)

4. Assess What You Want to Avoid

Sometimes understanding what you don’t value is as important as knowing what you do. Think about behaviours, environments, or situations and people that drain your energy.

This can help you identify values like integrity, balance, or freedom—remember that we discussed the misconception of what freedom is. You might need to revisit that— here.

5. Explore Trends Across Your Life

Look for patterns in your life. Are there recurring trends or motivations in your career, relationships, or personal goals?

For example, if you’ve consistently sought roles that involve helping others, compassion or service may be one of your values.

6. Prioritize and List Core Values

From your reflection, make a clear list of values that stand out. Then prioritize them based on their importance in your life. Common values include:

? Integrity

? Family

? Creativity

? Achievement

? Spirituality

? Growth

? Contribution

You can have as many on your list.

Narrow the list to five to seven core values that you believe define who you are at your core. Don't deceive yourself at this point.

7. Test Your Values

Once you’ve identified your values, test them by asking yourself how they guide your decisions, actions, and relationships.

—Are they consistently shaping your choices, or do they feel more aspirational?

If a value feels more aspirational, it means that while you admire and aim for it, you haven’t fully incorporated it into your behaviour or decision-making.

For example, you might want to prioritize work-life balance (a value), but in practice, you find yourself consistently overworking.

The goal here is to align your daily life with your values.

Defining your values gives you clarity and moral guidance that will help you in decision-making and set a course for your life’s purpose.

As you live by these core values, your purpose becomes clearer and more meaningful.

Alright, now...

A powerful biblical example that clearly demonstrates how a well-defined value can lead to the discovery of true purpose is the story of Moses. His life shows a distinct progression from discovering his core values to fulfilling his God-given purpose.

Biblical Examples—

In Exodus 2, Moses’ early life shows his strong sense of justice. When he witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, he acted in defense of the oppressed by killing the Egyptian.

Although this action was rash, it demonstrated Moses' deep-seated value for justice and compassion for the suffering of his people. This strong internal drive for justice led him to stand up for the oppressed, even when he was living in Pharaoh's palace.

Later, in Exodus 3, God called Moses at the burning bush, revealing his true purpose: to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. God saw Moses’ heart for justice and used that core value to align Moses with his greater purpose as the deliverer of Israel.

It is quite important for us to know that we call it Value because it has a significant and equal impact on the lives of others, not just on you and your immediate family. The same energy you use to defend your selfish cause is the same energy you can use to support others or the company you work with and ensure their obvious progress.

Let's point out the lessons here for clarity—

• Moses’ Value— His desire for justice and defense of the oppressed was central to his identity, even before he understood his full calling.
• Moses’ Purpose— This value guided him toward his God-given purpose—to be the leader and deliverer of God’s people, fulfilling a grander role in the divine plan.
• Defining Moment— When Moses acted on his value of justice, it set him on a path that led him to his purpose, first as a fugitive (to be trained and refined by God) and then as a chosen leader called by God.

When you discover and align with your core values, as Moses did with his sense of justice, you are often positioned to discover a higher purpose that reflects God’s plan for your life.

Another example—

King David, the man after God's heart, and his journey to becoming the king of Israel.

David’s core value of faithfulness and devotion to God led him to discover his true purpose as Israel’s king and a man after God’s own heart.

In 1 Samuel 16, we read David’s humble beginnings as a shepherd. While tending sheep, David’s faithfulness and devotion to God shone through his worship, prayer, and care for his flock. His time as a shepherd was not seen as grand by others, but it was filled with activities that gave him purpose and excitement—worshipping God, writing psalms, and protecting his sheep from lions and bears. These activities aligned with David’s value of faithfulness to God and responsibility in whatever he was given.

David’s value of devotion to God became even more evident in 1 Samuel 17, during the encounter with Goliath. While everyone else was terrified of the Philistine giant, David was energized by his passion for defending God's honour. His faith and courage came from his value of trust in God’s power and a deep sense of responsibility to protect Israel.

David’s battle with Goliath was not just a moment of bravery; it was the result of years of devotion and trust in God during his quiet moments as a shepherd.

Again, let's point out the focus here for clarity—

• David’s Value— David valued faithfulness, trust in God, and responsibility. His activities—worshipping, protecting the sheep, and fighting Goliath—flowed naturally from these core values.
• David’s Purpose— These values led David to his ultimate purpose as king to lead the people of God in righteousness. His faithfulness in small things (like shepherding) prepared him for larger responsibilities, eventually guiding him to lead Israel with the same trust and devotion to God.
• Defining Moment— David’s confrontation with Goliath and his earlier years of tending the flock show that when you engage in activities that connect with your values, it often prepares and leads you to your greater purpose.

David’s life exemplifies that by staying true to his core values, which gave him energy and purpose, he was positioned by God to fulfill his greater calling. His purpose as a leader and king was rooted in his value of faithfulness to God, which had shaped his life from the beginning.

Critically examine these two examples from the scripture, and you will discover that neither of them cared about fame or money. They were driven to establish a core value that guided their decisions at every impulse, which created for them a relevant place in the sovereign plan of God.

Let your heart be pure, and you will not struggle. The pulling, pushing, and cutting corners is a sign of fear and anxiety—a defense mechanism to control events about which you lack clarity. Why don't you stop struggling and submit to God before whom everything lies bare? Return to Eden.

The Place of Innocence

Eden symbolizes a place of innocence, and the essence of redemption is to restore our innocence so that God's glory may be revealed upon us as He clothed us in Eden.

That was why Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, "Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [being innocent, trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]."

Not entering the kingdom of God also means not having access to divine provision as we ought to enjoy here on earth, such as the discovery and fulfillment of true purpose.

God truly want us to return to innocence because that's the only way we can access and willingly submit to divine purpose. It is easier to deal with children and inculcate whatever we want in them, aligning them with your line of program than with adult, who is already fed with different ideologies of how things should be.

After several observations, I came to agree in my Spirit that being spiritually prosperous does indeed means being well-rooted in your divine purpose. Matthew 5:5 emphasizes the blessings of the meek—those who are humble, patient, and willing to submit to God's will. Meekness is a form of strength that comes from trusting and surrendering to God’s will for your life. In this kind of humility, we find clarity and alignment with our divine purpose.

Psalm 25:9 further clarify this by stating that God teaches the humble His way. Humility opens the heart to divine guidance, much like a child is open to instruction. When we return to this childlike innocence—free from the clutter of conflicting ideologies and self-centered ambitions—we become more aligned with God's purpose for our lives.

To be spiritually prosperous means to live in harmony with God's design for our lives. This spiritual wealth as no foundation on material gain but on fulfilling the divine purpose for which we were created. However, it does make rich and adds no sorrow.

What is it we want that has no provision in our place of primary assignment? Adam and Eve had all that they could ever have worked for in the garden of Eden before God called them to take care of the garden. They were not meant to hustle as it were but to flow in the easy process God already made available.

Your journey to a meaningful, purpose-driven life starts with self-reflection and clarity. Let your values guide you to where you can make the most significant difference. Are you ready to redefine success? Then flow in the innocence of your core values.