Values and ‘the why’

Mindless busy work. Meeting after meeting. It feels pointless. And, just sometimes, it IS pointless.

“What’s your why?” the coach asked. I wrinkled my forehead, pursed my lips and cocked my head to the side.

This was part of a short course designed to help us ‘re-set’ as we near the end – please Lord – of this crazy period of closed borders, relentless lockdowns and pirouetting (ie frantic ‘pivoting’).

It was a helpful course and we were given some useful tools. This blog post is my way of processing one particular aspect of the course.As you read along, you may find it stimulates thoughts relevant to your situation too.

Why, how and what

A secular tool which the coach recommended was the ‘Golden Circle’. It basically considers your ‘why, how and what’. Businesses use it to set their compass of what they do, how they do it, and most importantly, why they do it.

The parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, for example, has recently re-branded itself as ‘Meta’. Their ‘why’ drives everything they do and how they do it. The founder of ‘Meta’ put it like this:

“In our DNA, we build technology to bring people together.”

Mark Zuckerberg, https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/founders-letter/

Their ‘why’ is to bring people together.

Their ‘how’ is to build technology.

Their ‘what’ includes specific forms of technology such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and possibly, in the future, holograms and more.

That’s Meta. What about Suzanne?

“For God so loved the world….”

That’s my big ‘why’, and it is a good one.

But it’s too big.

The Bible is full of teaching about how God has endowed us with different gifts, skills and abilities for the sake of his community. As the Apostle Paul put it, we all have different roles to play.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

So what good works has God prepared in advance for us to do?

The Greek for the word translated as ‘to do’ at the end of this verse, περιπατήσωμεν (peripatēsōmen), literally means ‘to walk all around’. ‘Peri’ means ‘around’, as in ‘perimeter’. ‘Patein’ means ‘to tread on’, which creates a ‘path’. The English word, ‘peripatetic’, comes from this Greek word. I have often described my own lifestyle in recent years, when borders are open, as ‘peripatetic’.

περιπατήσωμεν (peripatēsōmen) is the main verb in the second half of this verse, and different to the word, also translated as ‘to do’ in English which precedes ‘good works’, ἐπὶ (epi). That isn’t a verb at all in the original Greek, but is actually a preposition, meaning ‘on the basis of’. The second half of this verse, then, carries more a sense of our good works reflecting the unique natures God has predestined for each of us as we go about our daily lives.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 NASB

Why am I best placed to walk in particular good works compared to, say, Gillian from Gulargambone? Gillian has a different set of good works in which to walk.

(I don’t actually know Gillian from Gulargambone. She just represents other people who are somewhat like me but not quite the same.)

“Start with the why.” This is a helpful tip I gleaned from the course. Why I do what I do stems from who God has made me to be.

A Values Assessment

Another helpful tool which I gleaned from the course was the concept of a ‘personal values assessment’.

We were provided with a sheet chock full of words. Each word represented a value. They were all quite good values. It wasn’t a case of right and wrong, but rather a case of identifying which values particularly struck a chord in our hearts.

I did a similar exercise once as part of a team. We were given a table full of words, all on bits of paper, and all with different values. We were asked to take words which we felt represented our our own values. We then had to combine our lists and create one list that represented us as a team. What seemed like a simple activity led to some difficult but exceptionally helpful discussions.

When I did it as a ‘personal values assessment’ exercise, it was subjective, of course. It would be helpful to ask others to frankly explain how they see me. In any case, it served its purpose of helping me identify how I perceive myself to be wired. I’ve done many other work style / personality preference quizzes, but I’ve never before done a personal ‘Values Assessment’.

I skimmed through the list, circling those words which jumped out at me. Then I cut that list down to about 8-10 values. Finally, as per the activity instructions, I drafted a ‘Personal Values Statement’.

A Personal Values Statement

I’m still not 100% sure of my ‘why’, but I was interested to see that ‘reflection’ featured prominently in my short list of values. That’s partly due to training and partly due to personality.

I like to think that I have something to offer to more action-oriented colleagues in this space. It also gives me ‘licence’ to take blocks of time to reflect, journal and blog, though doesn’t excuse inactivity. Inactivity is a real threat to my walking about in the good works that God prepared in advance for me to do.

A draft of my ‘values statement’ is below, but I am aware that it is too wordy and inadequately specific. Still, it is a start.

I yearn to be significant, and try to ensure that by reflecting often on what I observe both around me and within me. This may be aided by learning at times. As a result of such reflecting and learning, I strive for wholeness, contentment and dependability of both myself and the communities of which I am a part.

So what?

It’s all very nice to have a ‘personal values statement’ but what practical difference does it make in life?

First, it helps me prayerfully discern where I pour my resources of time and energy, limited though they be. I can’t be everything to everyone in every place. But there are particular things that I can do, and want to do. Perhaps God has uniquely equipped me to sit back and reflect on specific situations then speak into them from a considered perspective.

Second, it takes the pressure off me being like the Apostle Paul. The good works which he prepared in advance for me to do as I walk about did not … I don’t think … involve passionately pushing on despite challenges such as shipwrecks, beatings and imprisonments. Some of my colleagues may be more like this great apostle, and I admire them greatly, but that’s not me.

Third, it affirms some areas of my current work which I previously viewed almost as ‘optional extras’ rather than ‘the real focus’. I love to spend time with people of a particular background, and don’t plan to stop doing that. How can I reflect and contribute if I am not involved in the action at all. Yet I often find myself building into other workers in various ways, which is a privilege but takes time … time which I sometimes begrudge. Certain writing projects fall into the same category. ‘Indulging in’ spiritual direction and an occasional retreat is perhaps less of a luxury and could be better seen as tools which helps me to fulfil my unique role in my community.

As I look at my ‘values statement’, I realise that, perhaps, I am already where I should be, doing what I should be doing, as one who is God’s handiwork created for good works in Christ Jesus.

In conclusion….

I wonder if you have ever done a ‘personal values assessment’? And if so, I wonder how that affects your ‘why’? I’d love to hear about it if you have.

It wouldn’t surprise me if some of my friends say, “Where does all this thinking get us? There is a job to be done. Just DO it.” And that reflects the good works that God prepared in advance for them to do. Some people are full of action, zeal and purpose. People like that should wholeheartedly leap into action for God’s kingdom.

“What’s your ‘why’?” the coach asked me. “Spend some time on that,” he advised, “and you will have a compass by which to direct your life choices.”

Through doing that little course, I have narrowed down my ‘why’. I remain focused on people of a particular background and those who intentionally intersect with them. In that space, I want to be a reflective cross-cultural worker who strives to see people and communities thrive.

And so, re-focused, I shall carry on walking in the good works that God has prepared in advance for me.