To God be the Glory

If we do not live to glorify God we completely miss our purpose for being here

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Recently I have been thinking about what it means to give God the glory. I confess I used to think it meant thanking Him for all our blessings and answers to prayer, seeing Him in all creation, worshipping Him, praising Him in all circumstances. Well, it is all these things and many more, but it also means living in such a way that glorifies Him. The word glory means “to magnify, give the highest praise, to worship, to put the spotlight on, to give first place to”. Do I do that all the time. No, I do not.

We have a neighbour, who will randomly come and ask me to help her do various things. I am usually able and happy to oblige but I know that sometimes I show my impatience at first, at being interrupted from something I was doing at the time. That does not glorify God. That does not put Him first or put the spotlight on Him.

I could quote many more examples of when I do not glorify God in my daily living yet in reality, that is the sole purpose of our creation – to glorify God.

Jesus glorified God all the time. He came to earth to do the will of the Father. He was always shining the spotlight on the Father and doing God’s will. He emphasised what the Father was really like to the people around Him (and to us through His word). He wanted to show God’s true character and not the one portrayed by the religious leaders of the time. Just before going to His death He said to His Father in John 17:1: Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. And then in verses 4 and 5: I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. He knew that the specific time had come for Him to go to the cross. He knew He was here to glorify the Father and to do His will so that we, who keep on believing in Him, might be saved.

Giving God the glory is for our own good. It is only when we do so that we find fulfilment and true peace and joy in life because it is for this reason we were created. If we do not live to glorify God we completely miss our purpose for being here. We can try other things and tell ourselves we are okay but this can only last for a short time, before discontentment sets in. Ernest Hemingway once wrote that he was going to live the way he wanted. He said, “I’m living proof that one can live any way he chooses and succeed…I have fought in revolutions…I have satisfied my desire, and I stand as living testimony to the fact that you can sin and get away with it.” Ten years after he wrote that, he put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

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In Ecclesiastes, the writer, (who is widely thought to be Solomon), was a man who had tried everything there was to find satisfaction in this world, but nothing worked and he came to the conclusion, at the end that of the book, in Ecclesiastes 12:13: Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. After all his quests for happiness, he came to the realisation that to obey God and give Him the glory was what mankind was created for. Have you ever tried to use something for the wrong purpose? Have you ever tried to use a pair of plyers instead of a spanner to tighten a nut or a knife instead of a screwdriver. It’s just not the same. The job becomes harder, and you find yourself wishing you had bothered to look in the shed for the correct tool. Well, that is like living our lives for the wrong purpose. Things don’t fit properly. It just doesn’t feel right. We were created to give God glory.

If we truly examine our motives, there are times when we do things to shine the spotlight on ourselves for our own glory or to please other people. There are many tragic stories about famous people who can’t cope when they have to give up the limelight or find the celebrity status an empty and unfulfilling experience. God does not want us to crave notoriety for ourselves.

In Daniel 4 it tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar who looked over Babylon and praised himself for having built it for his own glory. For glorifying himself, God sent him to live with the animals and like the animals for seven years. At the end of this time in verse 34 Nebuchadnezzar wrote this: At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified him who lives forever.

He came to the realisation that his purpose was not to glorify himself but God. He had to go through a very painful and degrading process to receive that awakening.

If we court the admiration and adulation of other people then that is all the reward we will get. God is not impressed by that. We will get no reward from Him.

Matthew 6:2 says: "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full."

Thomas Watson, a Puritan from the 1600s said that we know if we are glorifying God:

-When we prefer God’s glory above all other things.
-When we are content that God’s will should take place, though it may cross ours.
-When we are pleased to be outshined by others in gifts and esteem, so that His glory may be increased.

Can we honestly say this is what we do all the time. I know I don’t but I, like all of us, am a work in progress.

The Apostle Paul didn't quit. In 2 Timothy 4:7-8 he says: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

So, let’s keep going and do what Paul tells us to do in 1 Corinthians 10:31: So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Let’s give God the glory in everything because: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Revelation 4:11

Author: Thelma Cameron

May God bless and enrich your life

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