Doug, Angie, my wife Clare, and I were all in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado for our coaching event called Refuel in the Rockies. It was an amazing time of training, building relationships, and silence before God. In our session about Leading Ourselves, Doug took us through the Core Values Assessment to help us all discover the 5 things we all individually hold most dear. See, the truth is, all of us have core values. These values are embedded in our very souls and vital to us as human beings. When we are living and leading out of our core values, we find true joy. Likewise, when our core values are abused, taken advantage of, or attacked, we feel most violated.

Now I’d been through this exercise years ago, but was again reminded how vital these 5 things are in my life, and it came as a breath of fresh air. Community, beauty, respect, courage, and justice all strike a deep chord in my heart and shape who I am. To live out of my core values is to live fully, but only if they were glorifying to God. All of our core values can be used for either good or evil; the choice is ours.

When we are growing in relationship with Christ, then living out of our core values brings life to us and to all around us. When we are out of relationship with Christ, our core values can destroy both us and others. Living within Christ unleashes your values for good in the world. It really is true how God wants to use us all in an individual way. Pretty amazing.