I grew up attending a Christian summer camp that before every mealtime would recite 1 Corinthians 10:31 which says this: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
This verse just might be one of the most well-known verses in Christianity, especially those of the Piperian persuasion. However, it is a curious thing; while one is hard-pressed to find a Christian that will not give mental assent to our responsibility to give glory to God, it is quite another thing to find a Christian who actively pursues such proclamation of God's glory.
Another curious thing about the conversation of "God's glory" is that those words themselves are quite vague. Until recently, I would have been very hesitant to define what the "glory of God" is and what "giving God glory" actually means.
Here is my quick explanation: proclaiming the glory of God is the act of showing how much better and more important God is in every word we say and every action we do. The difficulty in this discussion of trying to glorify God is that it is impossible to display the awesomeness of Jesus if He isn't awesome to you.
One might say, "But David, I'm a Christian, and I do want to glorify God." To which I would respond, "Good for you." But here's the deal: because it's nice and easy to talk about this conceptual "glory of God", all Christians fall into patterns of simply forgetting about Jesus and not recognizing Him as the only all and only-satisfying fountain that He is.
Volumes are written in discussion of what the glory of God actually is, so I hope this post simply gets the cognitive juices flowing in your mind in attempt to understand what we mean when we say that we want to "glorify God" or "do all to the glory of God."
If it means that we want everything that we do to point to how special Jesus is, then consider these two things:
1) Is He actually special to you?
2) If He is special to you, what steps do you take to communicate that to others?
I am not saying that merely doing lists of things will show that Jesus is more important. Not having tattoos, not drinking alcohol, not smoking cigarettes, not saying bad words, not listening to "bad music," and not going to "R" rated movies are not ways to put the importance of Jesus on display. Any good Catholic or Mormon can conform to a regimen of externals and hate the Gospel as much as any anti-theist.
I also do not want to say that we should simply go around saying "Jesus is the most important thing in my life" (I actually know someone who said that). As I always tend to say, the things that you love the most will make themselves evident whenever you do anything. If it is important for you to be well-liked, you will probably not say too many controversial things or get into too many arguments. If it is important that you become an elite in sports, you will spend a lot of time in the gym or on the field. If it is important that you are able to get an attractive boyfriend or girlfriend, you will look and act in a certain way. If you are about letting people know about how awesome Jesus is, you will talk about Him all the time; and if you don't talk about Him all the time, your manner of communicating will be one that points to His love and ultimate supremacy at all times.
Consider these things and be honest with yourself. Don't make excuses. If you see room for improvement, praise God that you aren't too proud to be blinded to weak spots.
My suggestion: Ask Him RIGHT NOW to make Himself so important to you that you can't help but share His awesomeness with family, friends, co-workers, and anyone that will listen.
If God changes and moves your heart towards that end, you won't be able to stop His name from coming off of your lips.
He is our glory, our satisfaction, and our hope.
.DSN.
This verse just might be one of the most well-known verses in Christianity, especially those of the Piperian persuasion. However, it is a curious thing; while one is hard-pressed to find a Christian that will not give mental assent to our responsibility to give glory to God, it is quite another thing to find a Christian who actively pursues such proclamation of God's glory.
Another curious thing about the conversation of "God's glory" is that those words themselves are quite vague. Until recently, I would have been very hesitant to define what the "glory of God" is and what "giving God glory" actually means.
Here is my quick explanation: proclaiming the glory of God is the act of showing how much better and more important God is in every word we say and every action we do. The difficulty in this discussion of trying to glorify God is that it is impossible to display the awesomeness of Jesus if He isn't awesome to you.
One might say, "But David, I'm a Christian, and I do want to glorify God." To which I would respond, "Good for you." But here's the deal: because it's nice and easy to talk about this conceptual "glory of God", all Christians fall into patterns of simply forgetting about Jesus and not recognizing Him as the only all and only-satisfying fountain that He is.
Volumes are written in discussion of what the glory of God actually is, so I hope this post simply gets the cognitive juices flowing in your mind in attempt to understand what we mean when we say that we want to "glorify God" or "do all to the glory of God."
If it means that we want everything that we do to point to how special Jesus is, then consider these two things:
1) Is He actually special to you?
2) If He is special to you, what steps do you take to communicate that to others?
I am not saying that merely doing lists of things will show that Jesus is more important. Not having tattoos, not drinking alcohol, not smoking cigarettes, not saying bad words, not listening to "bad music," and not going to "R" rated movies are not ways to put the importance of Jesus on display. Any good Catholic or Mormon can conform to a regimen of externals and hate the Gospel as much as any anti-theist.
I also do not want to say that we should simply go around saying "Jesus is the most important thing in my life" (I actually know someone who said that). As I always tend to say, the things that you love the most will make themselves evident whenever you do anything. If it is important for you to be well-liked, you will probably not say too many controversial things or get into too many arguments. If it is important that you become an elite in sports, you will spend a lot of time in the gym or on the field. If it is important that you are able to get an attractive boyfriend or girlfriend, you will look and act in a certain way. If you are about letting people know about how awesome Jesus is, you will talk about Him all the time; and if you don't talk about Him all the time, your manner of communicating will be one that points to His love and ultimate supremacy at all times.
Consider these things and be honest with yourself. Don't make excuses. If you see room for improvement, praise God that you aren't too proud to be blinded to weak spots.
My suggestion: Ask Him RIGHT NOW to make Himself so important to you that you can't help but share His awesomeness with family, friends, co-workers, and anyone that will listen.
If God changes and moves your heart towards that end, you won't be able to stop His name from coming off of your lips.
He is our glory, our satisfaction, and our hope.
.DSN.
Enjoyed your thoughts on "do all to the glory of God"
ReplyDeletekeep up the musing on Him!
Jay