I Kings 21:25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
Virtue vs. Values
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I have recently noticed a lot of talk in public discourse about “values.” We are likely to hear about “our values” or “America’s values.” What astonishes me is how often values are used to justify morally deviant behavior. Someone will pompously say about a person who holds to a Biblical view of marriage, for instance, “Well, you do not share America’s values.” Are values and virtues the same thing?
What is virtue? Virtue is a character trait or action that is morally, which is to say absolutely, good and worthy. That means that virtue is defined as good by a fixed standard. The standard, of course, should be a Person, God Himself. Values, on the other hand, are simply the traits and actions to which we affix value. So, when I read I Kings 21, the difference between virtue and value comes to mind.
It is the story of Ahab, a wicked king of God’s people. If you know Ahab at all, you know that he had no virtue whatsoever. Did he have any values? Most certainly he did, because like all of us, there were things that Ahab valued.
I Kings 21 tells us how he coveted the garden of a neighbor, Naboth. The king essentially said, “Give me your garden that is near to my house so I can make it a garden of herbs. I’ll either give you money for it or property of better value.” How did Ahab value that piece of ground that belonged to his neighbor? He valued it for money or a trade. But Naboth said, “The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.” It was just a vineyard to Ahab, but to Naboth it was his God-given inheritance.
Eventually, Ahab lied about Naboth and had him murdered so he could take his vineyard. I Kings 21:25 says, “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.” So to Ahab, a garden of herbs was worth money, a trade, or murder. To Naboth, it was his inheritance to which he was legally bound.
In breaking one command, Ahab really did injustice to several others. Covetousness led to lying, murder, and robbery. But God’s commentary on this story is that Ahab “sold himself.” We have a rich king with poor values. Ahab didn’t buy a vineyard, he sold himself just as if he had sold himself into slavery.
Virtues are traits to which God attributes worth; values are traits that we find worthy. Values change with the people who hold them, but virtues can only change if God does. The takeaway is that a man with poor values cannot help but live cheaply. When you look at people who value things that are not valuable and do not value things that God considers important, that person cannot help but live a cheap life. If you want to live a rich life, a life worth living, find out what is important to God and seek His grace to live that life.