All to the Glory of God
March 17, 2024•1,101 words
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
I've come across this verse in my readings recently. It seems like a simple idea. Everything we do should be to the aim of bringing glory to our Creator God.
Then I really started to ask myself what that means. I've read this verse and verses similar to it many times, but today I feel like I've never truly puzzled through the depth of what it truly means.
Paul is writing this here in the context of food and drink, but this verse seems to simplify a dilemma ("What is allowed for us to eat?") by appealing to a larger guiding principle ("Do all to the glory of God").
This principle is indeed writ large, dispersed throughout the Bible. Paul says it again to the Colossians:
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus himself says this:
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
-- Matt 5:14-16
This goes even a step further: Jesus is telling us not only to glorify God with our good works, but to use them to inspire others too. We should all hope to glorify Him in a way that is contagious.
What even is Glory?
Could you define glory if you were asked? I thought I could, but when I tried, I was suddenly less certain of myself... Merriam Webster gives us this:
1 a: praise, honor, or distinction extended by common consent : renown
b: worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving
giving glory to God
God also tells us this Himself, though:
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!
-- Psalm 50:23
So how do we know what brings glory to God? I think this is a question we intrinsically know the answer to. Once we truly know and understand that we were created by a loving and personal God, that we are condemned by our sin, and that we are saved from that fallenness by the coming and the sacrifice of Jesus, gratitude and praise must flow naturally.
If that's not enough to get you started, though, David's Song of Thanks in 1 Chronicles 16 gives us the bones of it: praise; worship; declare His wonder to the world. God made us in His image as creative beings, and He knows our hearts. It's hard to go wrong if something good is truly done in His name.
All the Psalms are dedicated to worship and thanksgiving. Crossway's ESV study Bible says that
The Hebrew label for the psalms, “Praises,” may have originally reflected the idea, readily found today, that adoration and thanks to God are the primary acts of worship; but it would be better to learn from the title of the entire Psalter that the whole range of the psalms—from adoration and thanks to the needy cry for help (even the desolate moan of Psalm 88)—praises God when offered to him in the gathered worship of his people.
In all we do?
As a new Christian, I didn't see how it was possible for a modern person to live by this principle. Really... in all we do? With all the distractions, temptations, and things we want and strive for in life, how could anybody be expected to keep their eyes constantly on God and the kingdom?
I was arrogant and proud enough to believe that if I couldn't live by this, then it must be impossible. Hence, I distrusted the earnestness of the people in my life whom I most needed to emulate and depend on for my own growth.
Thankfully, I know better today. Though I need the reminder from time to time, I have no doubt that the people to whom I aspire use it as a north star for every decision in life, and I am doing my best to follow in this.
God gives us so many gifts with which to glorify Him: gifts of empathy and caring for our fellow humans, gifts of artistic talent, gifts of teaching... the list goes on and on, and there are ways to use each gift we are given and cultivate for that purpose. For example, it's easy to see how musical talent can be used to bring people closer to God and praise Him, but we all know of more numerous examples where this talent is used by artists to enrich and glorify themselves instead.
Is this really our purpose on the earth?
Yes. Jesus gave us this command himself and declared it to be our greatest commandment:
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
We honor those who we love by following their wishes, and honoring God is no different. As Christians, we know how to do this:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Work tirelessly to do what is good, wherever you find yourself. Lend a hand to someone who needs it. Help to make the church a great place. Take a walk in the woods and admire His creation. Carry yourself in a way that makes people wonder what makes you so content in a world where happiness eludes so many.
All of these things (and more) can and should be done to the glory of God.