It is a longstanding, and generally universal, belief in the Christian church that human beings should live to the glory of God.  This is not a notion created by a Papal decree or by a Protestant reformer.  The Bible itself teaches as much.  In fact, our failure to glorify God is what makes us sinners worthy of judgment, according to Romans 3:23 (”For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” KJV), and Romans 6:23 (”… the wages of sin is death…” KJV).

This basic Christian conviction — that all people should glorify God — is stated clearly in the opening words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (of 1648):

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

I’ve read very similar comments in many other Protestant and Catholic theological works.

Various Christian groups may approach the idea from different directions or express it in any number of ways, but the central truth remains in all genuinely Christian teaching: The highest goal and purpose of humanity in general, and each person specifically, is that we should glorify God.

The question then remains, “How do we glorify God?”

A well-known and well-read preacher on the radio recently said (or at least i understood him to say) that we should make a conscious choice to glorify God in everything we do.

Now, on the surface, that sounds like a great idea.  And I don’t think it’s a bad idea to to hold up some our habitual ways to such a standard, and ask, “Does this glorify God?”

For example, if I’m about to cuss the driver of a car in front of me because he or she is acting like an idiot in my estimation, I can gain a lot by asking myself if such behavior (my cussing, not the other person’s driving) brings any glory to God.

Clearly, many of the things we may be tempted to do or think might be averted and finally buried if we are consciously screening out behavior that we know will not glorify God.  Just try to imagine what Christians would be like if all of us applied the standard of God’s glory to our daily habits, routines, attitudes and choices.  The church might again be able to turn the whole world upside down.

On the other hand, the reality of human nature is that we tend to become legalistic about things.  Our religious side often overtakes the situation and we begin to categorize everything, making up little rules and exceptions.  The end result is that we end up justifying our own brand of behavior and condemning everyone else.

The Pharisees of the Gospels, for example, tried to go well beyond God’s requirements in the Law of Moses, so as to “get ahead” of the minimum requirements.  They did not do this because they were Jews and therefore more foolish than other men.  They did not do this because they lived in Old Testament times, or because they were somehow more corrupt than the rest of us.  They did this because they really wanted to be right in their living.  And they did it because they were human beings.

No, I don’t think that we can simply decided, from day to day, what will glorify God.  Our ignorance of God’s ways and God’s purposes is, for the most part, too great — even with the Bible as a faithful guide.  The Spirit would (and will) lead us is we will pay attention and be led.  But we are often more filled with our own selves than with God’s Spirit.  Or maybe I’m the only one who has this problem.

I believe that God is glorified when His creation does exactly what it was created to do.  A tree brings glory to God when it functions properly as a tree.  A star glorifies God when it does what stars are meant to do.  And so on.

Human beings failed to glorify God in the very first generation.  They were given a choice and an opportunity and they (we) botched it up.  And every generation since then has followed the same path.  Even the great heroes of the Bible had their moments of failure.  Everyone but Jesus.

Jesus died on the cross, not because He was a sinner, but because you and I are sinners.  He took our place, as the Bible (OT and NT) clearly teaches.  And we are given a new birth, as many Christmas carols proclaim.

Whoever is truly born again, by faith in Jesus Christ, becomes a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and that means that we are recreated “unto good works” as Ephesians 2 talks about.  That is, we are given a brand new opportunity to glorify God.  Not by works, this time, but by grace through faith.

How does a Christian glorify God?  By allowing God’s grace to have its perfect work in our hearts and lives.  This does not mean that any of us are perfect in our choices, behavior or understanding of God’s will.  But it means that all these things are available to us in Christ Jesus.  We are to believe God, trust in Jesus, live by faith, and follow the leading of God’s Holy Spirit as He directs us into obedience and joy.

It’s a learning, growing process as 2 Corinthians 3 (esp. v 18) talks about.  God changes us as we walk with Him.  We do have choices to make, but the grace of God guarantees that we will be changed.  That’s a good thing.  Otherwise, we would fail.

God’s glory, then, changes us.  We do not generate glory to God by our own human  and religious efforts.  The grace of God brings us along, transforming us more and more into the image of Christ Himself.

That’s how I see it.

Jim