Next Step for Young People With ConvictionSample

The Trophy 

It was the moment Josh had been building up to for years. There he was in the middle of all his teammates celebrating after winning the national basketball competition. Even though he was tired from the game, he could not stop himself from shouting and jumping with joy. 

Later that night, after all the celebration and award ceremonies, Josh laid on his bed looking at his prized trophy. He valued his trophy, making sure to leave it on his shelf shining, with no finger prints from his big hands.

The next day, Josh came into his room in horror to find his prized trophy broken on the floor. While he had been at school, Josh's little brother, Max, had hit his trophy with a ball. After shouting furiously at Max for breaking his prized possession, Max suggested something that just about put Josh over the edge. "I can buy you a new trophy. It's cheap," Max said.

See, what Max didn't realize was that the value of that trophy was not in the price you would pay for it at the store, but in what it represented. The trophy had represented years of hard work—years of late night practices—years of sore muscles—years of drills and practices. 

In the same way, our values are something we need to work for. They take time and hard work. There were probably times when Josh's friends went out partying, but Josh didn't go because he knew he needed to keep working for the goal he was reaching for. What are the goals or values we are working for?

We live in a world of people like Max. They don't understand the value of what we are building. We live in a world that does not value waiting till marriage for sex. So many people don't understand why we abstain from drugs, porn, or even something as simple as bullying. But just like the story of Josh and his trophy, the trophy that we are holding onto is our values. We know the hard work it takes to hold on to these values and when we work for something, it will be precious to us. 

Discussion: 

What are the values that are important to you?