Running head: CORE VALUES AND ETHICS

My Core Values and Ethics

Taylor Rilling
Azusa Pacific University

CORE VALUES AND ETHICS

My Core Values and Ethics

When thinking of my personal values and ethics I realize that all of them have
come from my Christian background and experience. I grew up going to church and
accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was 5-years-old. However, it is important to note
that I have tested and questioned most of these values from the time I was 16 to now.
Though there was not a single ethical system in the book by Wilkens (2011) that I 100%
agreed with, there were pieces from a few that I believe to be a large part of my personal
values and ethics. After careful thought and consideration my values and ethics are the
following: faith, inclusion, love, truth, empathy, and responsibility. These values and
ethics spell out the acronym FILTER. This phrase ironically formed itself and I soon
realized that I do indeed filter the world through my values and ethical views.
Faith is a main value for me because it plays a large part in Christianity. To me
faith encompasses my faith in the God of the Bible, even though I cannot physically see
Him, I know He is there. I think Wilkens puts it well when he talks about the divine
command theory, though I do not agree with all points of the theory, and faith. My faith
includes that I have concluded certain things to be true (p. 203). These true things are
that God is living and actively working in the world around me and that His plan for
humanity is found in Jesus Christ who came to earth fully God and fully man. Jesus lived
a perfect life, died on the cross to take on the sin of every human being to ever exist,
resurrected three days later, and now because of his death and resurrection every human
being can have a personal relationship with God and live eternally with Him in heaven.
This is faith that I have placed it in Jesus as the Lord and Savior of my life.

CORE VALUES AND ETHICS

Next in my acronym of values are inclusion and love. I believe both of these go
together as they are found in Biblical text and two of the ethical systems mentioned by
Wilkens. First, I have the value of inclusion because I believe that every human on the
planet deserves to be included in equal treatment through dignity and respect as a person.
I also equate this as a stem of Christian values because God does not limit His gospel to a
select few, but everyone (p. 35). God includes all people because He has made each of
them in His image. This view can also be found in the ethical system of cultural
relativism. Again, though I do not agree with all aspects of this ethical system I do agree
that Christianity is not solely for one specific culture, but for all cultures. Love also has a
part in this, as I believe that God asks me to love Him and to love my neighbor as myself
(Matthew 22:37-39). Therefore, I take a piece of Christian situation ethics as it says that
everything comes to love.
Because God is love according to I John 4:16, one could argue that loving God
and people is always at the forefront of a situation regardless of that love leading to doing
right or wrong. I do not agree with this aspect of it, but rather I think love as a personal
value comes from a view of being equally between legalism and antinomianism. Though
I expect nothing from others when I love them, this does not mean there are no guidelines
to love (p. 167). However, as great as situational ethics sounds, there is still the issue of
sin and the fact that I can never fully love people and God as it is defined. Therefore, this
ethical system of love can only be partly true for me.
Truth is also a part of my values as I believe there is absolute truth and this truth
is found in the Bible. God is absolute truth and the ethical system that best describes this
truth is found in narrative ethics. Though it does not explain why someone who does not

CORE VALUES AND ETHICS

already believe in narrative ethics from a Christian viewpoint would start to believe it,
narrative ethics does, in my opinion, bridge the gap in how I know truth from a Biblical
view. I know my value of faith to be part of my value of truth because the Bible
communicates to me who God is and this is true because I believe the Bible to be Gods
divine word and truth (p. 155).
I hold the value of empathy because I believe it to coincide with situational ethics
or love. When you truly love people as the Bible says to love everyone as you love
yourself, I think this includes empathy. Empathy is the ability to personally experience
thoughts and behaviors of others. As I continue to live out the life God has called me to
as a Christian, whether in the context of the church or not, love and empathy are closely
related. Part of truly loving people is a deep understanding of their experiences and
feelings. Lastly, responsibility is a part of my ethics because God has given every
Christian a responsibility through the Great Commandment and Great Commission found
in Matthew 22:37-39 and Matthew 28:16-20. My responsibility is my purpose for being
on earth. Gods purpose for me is to make His name known across the whole earth,
which is an outpouring of my love for him. This is accomplished through loving or
serving people and telling others about the redemptive work of Jesus. This is the action
that drives my ethical views.
Every aspect of my values relate to why I chose to go into student affairs.
Because of my Christian faith and all the values that come with it I realize that sharing
Jesus with others is part of the responsibility God has given me. I also know that college
students go through a lot of transitions through finding identity and who they are. This
being said, college is a vital time for college students to not only learn about themselves,

CORE VALUES AND ETHICS

but also their relationship with God. As a student affairs professional I want to encourage
students in their walk with God wherever they may be on the faith spectrum. The Great
Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) encourages followers of Christ to go and make
disciples. This is what I want to do within student affairs and why I see my job in student
affairs as a ministry instead of a career. Faith, inclusion, love, truth, empathy, and
responsibility are values that drive my work in student affairs. Thinking through and
writing out my values and ethics has helped me with a deeper understanding of what I
already know I believe and how it relates to my work in student affairs.

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Reference

Wilkens, S. (2011). Beyond bumper sticker ethics: An introduction to theories of right

and wrong doing. InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL.