I
Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
Whether
you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
I
Corinthians 10:23-31 focuses on the Christian conscience (see also Romans
14). Christians must never do things
from a selfish standpoint. Rather,
Christians should think about what best benefits others. Indeed so much easier said than done. In verse 27, Paul advised his readers that if
a believer is invited to an unbeliever’s home for dinner, you should go and eat
whatever is set before you, asking no questions for conscience’s sake. However, if you are there with another
believer and that believer has a weaker conscience than you, then you are to do
nothing that will cause that weaker Christian (or even the unbeliever) to
stumble (see also Romans 14:23). If the
meat served has been offered to idols and you know that the weaker Christian would
have a problem with you eating it, even if you don’t have a problem eating it,
you should not eat it. This is the
background for Paul stating in this passage that whatever you do, including
eating and drinking, do it all for the glory of God.
The
primary principle to follow in the life of a Christian is to glorify God in
everything that you do. A second primary
principle is described in verse 32 where the Christian must also do all he/she
can to put others’ needs first and do nothing to cause them to stumble.
What
does it mean to glorify God? Well, first
realize that you were created to glorify God. You must never forget this! You are here on this earth to glorify
God. You ask, “why am I here, why I am
alive, what is my purpose?” It is to
glorify God with what he has given you—time, talent, treasure---and in all that
you do in your life. Isaiah 43:7
declared: “Everyone who is called by My
name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made”. Whether you believe this or not, the Bible is
clear that God created you for His purpose and pleasure. Colossians 1:16 (Message) says that “For
everything, absolutely everything…….. everything got started in Him and finds
its purpose in Him.” You were not
brought into this world by accident. God
created you (read Psalm 139:13-16) and because He created you, you are never
insignificant. He created you for His
purposes and if you haven’t already (or even if you have) you need to read Rick
Warren’s book “Purpose Driven Life” to help you realize what your purpose in
life is if you don’t already know.
OK,
so what does it mean to glorify God as His created child? Well, it’s simple although of course it’s
easier said than done. To glorify God
means to bring Him honor in everything you do---what you think, what you speak,
what you do. You glorify God by what you
do with your body (I Cor 6:20). You
glorify God by putting Him first in your life, meaning that you have no other
idols, no higher priorities in your life other than to please Him. You please Him by being obedient to what He
says in His Word. Of course, you need to
know what His Word says. To glorify God
means that you speak about Him to others, that you are not ashamed of your
relationship with Him. You glorify God
by doing good works that others see and they in turn glorify God (Matt
5:16). To glorify God is to talk to Him,
to listen to Him, to think about Him often throughout your day, not just on
Sunday morning for an hour or so. To
glorify God is to give thanks to Him everyday for all His provisions and
blessings. Glorifying God also includes
suffering for Him, with suffering often the result of your denying yourself
sinful pleasures in deference to Him.
Your ultimate goal in life is to become more and more like Christ and
reflect the glory of God in you (II Cor 3:18b)
The
best way to glorify God is to ask yourself before doing anything whether or not
you think God would be pleased with what you are about to do. The problem is that most of us never think to
ask that question before we proceed to do it or say it or think it. It’s a discipline that must be learned
through daily practice and daily discipline that some master and others never
do.
No comments:
Post a Comment