Do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:6
Women of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of spiritual maturity left the Get Your Pearls Back Event excited and wearing their pearls. I promised I would write about one of the key lessons that was shared at the event in today’s weekly devotional.
Scriptures give reference to pearls because they represent something of value. Matthew 7:6 admonishes us to not give what is valuable to those who don’t recognize our worth. Pigs have no idea how valuable a pearl is.
Getting our pearls back starts with knowing that we are of value whether we are in a relationship or not. God values both singleness and marriage and his plans are for us to beautifully reflect the gospel regardless of our relationship status.
The key lesson I want to share in getting your pearls back is the importance of knowing and living your core values. Engaging in romantic relationships without having core values is like being lost on the highway without a navigation system.
Knowing your core values is key to being valued and making the relationship work. Tolerating pigpen behavior from the person we are in a relationship with speaks volumes about our core values as well as theirs. If the core values of the person you are in a relationship with is vastly different from your top core values, the relationship will not work. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?”
Core values reflect the things that matter to you. They are a guide to what you say yes to and what you say no to. They help direct how you should live. Even if we have no clue what our core values are, our lifestyle will easily reveal better than anything else what is of importance to us. Download core values worksheet.
If becoming like Jesus is one of your core values, your romantic relationships will look different from worldly relationships.
If abstaining from sex before marriage is one of your core values, but you are having sex, the value of purity is either not one of your core values or wanting a relationship so badly has made you compromise your values. If so, the relationship will not work.
If saving money is one of his values, but you are spending every dime, your relationship will not work. If one of your core values is commitment and his is convenience, the relationship will not work. If eating dinner with the family is a core value, but he is never home, the relationship will not work.
When our values are influenced by the world or pleasing self, we will be out of sync with God. The downside to identifying our values is that we become keenly aware of how inconsistent we live according to our core values. Mark 8:36 says, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
Why is it when we are in love, we choose charisma over character?
Samson was called by God to be set apart for his purposes, but his lust for women and falling in love with Delilah was his downfall.
Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley
of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
Judges 16:4
Who we become romantically involved with is not to be taken lightly. If we are not careful, love can make us throw our values out the window and make our pearls lack their luster. Knowing your value and your core values are tools to help you get your pearls back. But you got to want to get them back.
Prayer: Lord, I have given my pearls away in relationships that did not appreciate my value. Help me to guard my heart in order to protect my pearls. Even though I have comprised my core values time and time again, you love me still and my value in your eyes will never change. Whenever I doubt my value, help me to look to the cross.