WHY DO YOU MAKE YOUR CHOICES?

Every single day, you are making decisions—big and small. What should I do with my hair? Where should I go to school? Should I invest in cryptocurrency?

Amanda Reill from the Harvard Business Review pointed out that “The average adult makes 33,000 to 35,000 total decisions each day. Many of these happen automatically and simultaneously through the information we’ve subconsciously stored about what is good or bad.” Notice that last point about subconscious. Your brain basically has little labels that read “good” or “bad” that it uses to sort decisions. Your brain uses this as a map to get you to your next best step.

Every choice reveals something about our “core truths.” This is the next element we’ll examine while forming our purpose statements. Your life experiences got you where you are. They also did something else beneath the surface. These experiences formed narratives. These narratives became deeply held beliefs. Those deeply held beliefs are your “core truths.”

Everyone who has accomplished something significant clung to a core truth. Martin Luther King, who deeply valued the core truth of equality and activism, changed the world with a microphone. Steve Jobs, who deeply admired innovation and creative thinking, revolutionised technology with a phone that looked like a tablet. Billy Graham, carried the core truth of “Jesus saves” to cities all over the world, allowing him to lead 210 million people to the Lord. Our core truths matter. They set the stage for how we build our lives. Logic affirms this, and the Bible confirms it.

READ: Hebrews 11:24-26

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

Discover Your Core Truth

Hebrews 11 is known as the “Faith Hall of Fame.” In this collection of examples, the anonymous author points out the core truth of faith and how it played out in the lives of various people in Scripture. Today we’ll focus on Moses.

The life of Moses is fascinating from the beginning. By birth, he was a Jewish child. During his era, the people of Israel were enslaved by the Egyptians. They beat them, starved them, forced them to work, and threatened to drown their baby boys. Yep, you heard that last part right. In Exodus 1, the pharaoh of Egypt demanded that all Hebrew boys be drowned in the Nile River. Moses’s mother, Yocheved, had to put her faith into practice. Since her heart couldn’t stand to see her son murdered, she tried to hide him.

After a few months, the baby was too big for her to hide safely. She decided to place him in a wicker basket in a strategic spot near the Nile River’s bank. Why there? She was not sending her son down the river to die. She knew that wealthy Egyptians would clean off behind the privacy of the reeds along this stretch of the Nile. She wasn’t abandoning her son as much as she was putting him up for adoption.

To ensure his safety, Moses’s sister Miriam watched from a distance while her baby brother bobbed back and forth in the ripples. With glee, she watched as Pharaoh’s daughter noticed the baby and took him into her arms. She was planning to keep the child and adopt him! She ran from her hiding place to speak to the Egyptian royal. With impressive faith, she asked the princess if she would like a Hebrew midwife to ensure the boy was nourished. The princess agreed, so Miriam arranged to have Moses’s mother get a salary to nurse her own child—within the walls of the palace. How amazing is God’s planning?

Moses eventually lived in the palace. He got to grow up being instructed by the best teachers, eating the best food, and enjoying life with the wealthiest family in the Eastern world. You’d think he’d kick back his feet and just forget about the pain of his people, but that’s not what happened.

He remembered the pain of his people, reframed it, and developed a core truth as pointed out by the author of Hebrews. Chapter 11 explains, “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt” (verse 26). Do you see how his core truths led him to step out in faith? He knew that God had planted this deep-rooted empathy in his soul, so he followed it.

Exodus followed. Moses was able to break God’s enslaved people out of their captivity. Then, after a pretty long journey, they stepped into liberty. God’s people were set free.

Moses allowed God’s truth to change his trajectory. We should all be doing the same.

Our daily conduct exposes our core truths. It’s that simple. Moses valued freedom, so God’s people were set free. If you value friendship, you will make time to be with people and make their lives better. If you value service, you will invest your time in taking care of people. If you value God’s Word, you will read your Bible and live accordingly. Your priorities shape your destiny.

So, we must figure out what priority we need to pursue. Also, since we have all made the wrong decision before, we must ask, “What leads us to make choices that don’t line up with God’s purpose?”

Dismiss Your Core Lies

I know it sounds ironic, but don’t believe everything you believe. I hear you saying, “Shouldn’t we just pursue all of our core truths?” Not necessarily. Sometimes they’re not truths at all. Our brains are really good at lying to us. You may have decided to make fun of someone because you were afraid of being left out. You may have decided to lie to protect your reputation. You may have decided to take on too much debt because you valued influence and status.

Do you see it? Not all of your core truths are truths at all. Not all of your values are virtuous. That’s why we’re using the language of “core truth” instead of “core value.” We want to be sure your guiding beliefs are grounded in Divine truth and not just desires.

God champions the truth. It’s revealed all over Scripture. God is called a God of Truth, and Jesus is even referred to as “the Truth.” So, for some of us, we may need to evaluate whether it’s time to let go of some of our deeply held beliefs.

Do you see how the author of Hebrews points out what Moses could have done if he didn’t cling to his core truth? They point out that Moses “refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” and “chose to be mistreated” as a slave (Hebrews 11:24-25). Why did he do it? He valued God more than gold. Hebrews points out that “he was looking ahead to his reward” (Hebrews 11:26). Most people would never even think of leaving a lavish palace to live in slavery, but Moses did. Why? His core beliefs were aligned with God’s truth.

So, let’s figure it out. What are your core truths? What beliefs are directing you or even damaging you? The easiest way to figure out why you made a big decision the way you did is to ask “Why did I decide to do that?” Then, evaluate if it’s rooted in God’s character or human failure.

To help us see the difference in a God-given core truth and a flawed core belief, let’s talk about career choices. Let’s say you decided to pursue medicine. Some people are doing it because they deeply desire to serve people. That’s a core belief rooted in God’s Word. However, some people may enter medicine for the money and wealth. That’s a distortion of God’s desire for your priorities.

Let’s start writing this down. Take a look at five major decisions you’ve made and ask yourself, “Why did I do it that way?” Be completely honest—no one is checking your work. Were your motives selfish? Note that but give yourself grace. Just be honest—it will help you get a genuine assessment that can help you grow.

Ask these questions of yourself:

What core beliefs are leading you?

Specifically, how have these core beliefs played out in your recent big decisions?

Is your core belief rooted in the truth or a lie?

So, what matters most to you? Is it community, positivity, honesty, creativity, compassion, evangelism, integrity, discipleship, or dependability? I hope something immediately comes to mind. Write it down! 

Take some time to write out your top three core values in life. This exercise will answer one of the most important questions we can ever ask ourselves: “Why?” Why do you want to pursue that career? Why do you want to move to that city? Why do you want to volunteer at the church? Why do you want to date that person? Start interrogating yourself honestly, openly, and graciously. Slowly, you will begin to see a theme. Those are your core truths. Really let them sink into your soul. They are the meaning behind your mission.

MY THREE CORE TRUTHS ARE:

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Note: Every believer’s core truths include the message of the gospel (John 3:16), the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40), and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20).