the problem with your idea is that you would want us to be 100% ddedicated to what we value. If I value money, should I work 20 hours a day, to the exclusion of all other activities.

If I value honesty Should I tell all I know about my employer, especially since I know his competitor is probably doing wrong also.

If i desire and value the body of a certain female, but do not want her mind, should I tell lies to her to get the part I value

Many things I find most valuable are the same things I find it hardest to live up to.

I praise honesty and think lies are the weakest tool I have, yet I find it cumbersome to tell the truth at all times. Often less than the truth is the only way out of a argumental conversation. Leaving the other guy a easy out often seems more desirable than the truth. Not sharing my personal truth seems a safer route than answering every question honestly even when the answer does matter.

I value simplicity yet I allow my life to become so complex and interwoven that I am constantly interrupted by trivia and other peoples incessant demands and unwarrented expectations.

I admire (value) strength yet I am in very poor physical shape and find my self unwilling to suffer the heavy price of getting healthy.

I know that unless we practice our values they can and will become extinct in our lives. What values we want to hand down to our children will only be available if they are cherished and keep alive. They can die just like a tradition, they can vanish from the face of the earth just like the Mamoth and the saber tooth tiger. Yet I am guilty of the same neglect that I see all around me.

Not a very hopeful answer…..honesty often seems very bleak.

You may have to sort through this short epistle and read between the lines a bit to get some of the points you seek, but go ahead; it will be worth it. I don’t think, from a purely logical perspective, that WHAT we value can be determined only by what we are willing to sacrifice, but certainly the degree to which we value something can be so measured. The challenge in life is to find ways to stand up for or pursue those things in which we believe without sacrificing other values; a balancing act. It is also true that not all support of a valued thing requires sacrifice; action, yes, but not always sacrifice. We also need to understand our own value system and ensure that our values are realistic and right, not frivolous or improper. That means that values can change over time with the unfolding of events and life activities. When you are a child, you value candy, but when you are old, you value the teeth with which to chew it more than the candy itself. Thence, our dedication to a value is infinitely alterable. Sometimes we only know how much something means to us when it is lost, or when we are tried, e.g., we may be in favor of human rights, but are we willing to lie down our own life in its defense. Our convictions to values are a product of our own personal character. Those with strong character are more likely to hold strong values, and vice versa. Hope some of this helps.

Seems like the answer is Yes.

Points to make:

Time is precious

Money is precious

Reputation is precious

Family is precious

What we do that affects each of those things =our sacrifices=what we value the most.

Make your paragraphs go into detail on those topics.

your premise is correct ONLY if it reads thus: “Can what we MOST value be determined only by what we sacrifice”? The reality of living is that when faced with a choice in life, We voice our values by the things we choose. If you desire to be both chaste and popular, if presented an opportunity to be accepted in a group, but in order to do so you do things that go against your moral values, then your ultimate value is determined by what you sacrifice. If you decide to forego the immoral conduct, and the popularity, then it may be said that you most value chastity. But, if you give in and do those things in order to be popular, then you valued the acceptance more than you did the virtue of chastity.

There is an entire religious system that illustrates this…..Christianity. The central teaching of Christianity is that Christ is the Son of God, and gave himself as a sacrifice in order to cleanse the sins of mankind. In sacrificing himself, Christ illustrated (according to this argument) that he values us more than his own life, and more than his father, whom he allowed to be separated from until the day when he returned to heaven. I hope this illustration helps…..Good Luck.