A recent article in Psychology Today is entitled “10 Signs You Know What Matters.” In it psychology professor Stephen Hayes writes on the importance of people having and sticking to their values. Hayes argues that values “give life direction, help us persist through difficulties. They nudge us, invite us, and draw us forward. They provide constant soft encouragement.”

In this excerpt, notice how these signs overlap with biblical truth about values that matter:

You feel a sense of enough, rather than a need to measure whether you have more or less than others (Phil. 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:8).

You can readily name your heroes (cf. Gal. 2:20; Heb. 11).

You don’t know the content, but you can identify the theme of the next chapter of your life narrative (cf. Gal. 2:10; Psa. 139:16).

It’s what you would do if nobody were looking (1 Sam 16:7; Phil. 2:12).

You can, in only a few minutes, write about what matters. (Phil. 3:14; 1 Cor. 9:24)

You have a strong desire to communicate your interests to others (1 Pet. 3:15)

Source: Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., “10 Signs You Know What Matters,” Psychology Today, (September-October, 2018)