Better

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Psalm 84:10

Among organizations and individuals we hear a lot of talk about what it means to have “core values”. It’s not unusual to walk into a business or hospital and see a plaque on the wall proclaiming “vision” and “values”. Forty years ago, Milton Rokeach described what it means to have “a value”. According to Rokeach, to say that a person has a value is to say that he or she has “an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end state of existence is personally and socially preferable to an alternative mode of conduct or end state of existence”. If the definition seems a little wordy, try my one word definition: “better”. When we have a value, we believe it is possible to compare. We believe something, some attitude, some place is better. Some choices are better than others. That raises some serious questions in my life. Do I desire what is “better”? Do I crave what is “best”? Do I act accordingly? For a follower of Jesus, Psalm 84 resonates with our deepest longings. We long for home. We find it in God. We long for belonging. We find it in God. We long for meaningful service. We long for value and purpose in life. We find it in God. Obedient service to God is incomparable. Not only is it better to be near God, it is the best. Better is one day in the presence of God than thousands elsewhere.