by SepiaTones

Created on: February 20, 2009

For the Christian faith, the Scriptures are more than a written account of history. They show us how to live.

The Christian faith is comprised of individuals who have elected to place their faith in, or become followers of, Jesus Christ. They contain the words of God Himself and His instruction to us. Believing and understanding this has nothing to do with human rationale and everything to do with faith in someone bigger and more omnipotent than oneself. Still the principles in scripture that form the Christian's personal values are both simple and rational.

This central passage of the Bible describes both the character and the essence of Jesus Christ. In words written by Paul the Apostle to the Christians at Philippi, he says, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross!

As Christ-followers, Christians look to Christ's humility as something to imitate. This brand of personal humility means we strive to consider not just our own needs in this life, but that we consider God and others first while living a humble life. When one considers his sinful human nature and understands that Jesus Christ sacrificed for the most severe person and the dirtiest heart, it becomes easier to walk in humility. How can I condemn someone if I truly understand that I have been forgiven for all the ways I have failed and been unloving?

There is nothing quite as humbling as those moments in my own life when I have been guilty of criticizing another person for a particular behavior, then turning around to realize that I have just been guilty of the same behavior I previously disdained. The Bible serves to provide for us that kind of mirror that reflects back to us a finger pointing.

As we begin to understand and adopt the principles we see taught in the Bible, our belief system undergoes a transformation. It follows that the things we believe slowly become a part of our values system and our values mostly determine our behaviors.

Another Biblical passage instructs Christians to,

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we

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