Throughout the Bible there are several values God tells us are His will for all of us. We don’t need to pray about whether or not we want them on our Life Palette; He tells us He wants us to make sure they are on our Life Palette. We simply need to develop our understanding and cultivate our use of them.

1. The Holy Spirit

Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:18 that we are to “be filled with the Holy Spirit.” In Galatians, he encourages us to “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:25)

2. Pray consistently

Ephesians 6:18 says, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” In other words, prayer should be a lifestyle.

3. Thankfulness

I once looked up, then copy and pasted every verse in the Bible on giving thanks. A stack of pages emerged from the printer, back when all we had were those noisy dot matrix printers. Don’t take my word for it. Do a word study and you will come to the same conclusion: giving thanks is to be a value on every person’s Life Palette. “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”  (Colossians 3:17)

4. Rejoice always

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4) This is not an option. We are to proclaim His glory and His praise. We will all go about it differently and express it in our own way according to our God-given personalities and gifts, but rejoicing is to be on every Life Palette.

5. Submit to authorities

Really? I grew up in a time when you often saw the bumper sticker that said, “Question Authority.” I was only a kid in the 1960’s, but the teenagers I admired and wanted to be like were all about making sure you didn’t submit to anyone! Yet God, the artist of our lives, says this is a part of living as a masterpiece. Jesus gave us an example when asked about paying taxes, “‘Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus knew their evil motives. ‘You hypocrites!’ he said. ‘Why are you trying to trap me? Here, show me the coin used for the tax.’ When they handed him a Roman coin, he asked, ‘Whose picture and title are stamped on it?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. ‘Well, then,’ he said, ‘give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.’” (Matthew 22:17-21)

6. Purity

God’s will is for us to be pure and this includes staying away from sexual sin. Why would God make this a value for each of us as a masterpiece? Simple—He created sex and knows completely the incredible intimacy, joy, and pleasure that by design it brings to a marriage. He also understands that when we do not live in the value of sexual purity that it will destroy intimacy, steal our joy, and cause us to pursue worldly pleasure; all of which are things the enemy wants to do in our lives to destroy God’s masterpiece. While all sin is sin and will take away the worth of our lives, Paul tells us this one has a different impact on us than others: “Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-19)

As a pastor, I’ve never had someone come into my office and tell me that one of the greatest things they’ve done in their lives is giving in to sexual immorality. No one has ever told me it has added value to their lives or that it has allowed them to shine as God’s masterpiece. However, I could share with you hundreds of stories of brokenness, hurt, shame, and regret because of it.

Nest Steps:

My list is not intended to be all-inclusive from the Bible, but rather a statement of the obvious as you read the Scriptures and look at the life of Jesus and the disciples. When you choose to make the Kingdom of God your primary concern, you take the first step to living as the masterpiece God created you to be. Perhaps some of the values I’ve listed are not currently on your Life Palette. Perhaps you feel a sense of God speaking to you. Don’t hesitate. Act now. Ask God to give you wisdom in these areas and commit to Him that as His masterpiece you are willing to choose to make His values your values. Ask Him for His help, courage and power to begin to live them out. Then begin to grow in your understanding of each of them through the Bible and begin to cultivate each of them on your Life Palette.

Adapted from Life Palette book: “God made a masterpiece…and it’s you!”