Glorifying God

On Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Miami Dolphins in overtime to begin the season 3-0, their best start since 2002.

Quarterback, Derek Carr, in a post-game interview, deflected credit for the team’s success saying, “All of the self-glory – that stuff is fleeting,”

The Fox interviewer told Carr that he’s playing with confidence and command like an MVP. Carr responded, “I’ve been through that stuff before…all I want to do is glorify {God}.

Then he added, “And so if it’s a win, awesome. If it’s not, I’m still going to glorify Him.”

On Carr’s web page he says, “The three most important things in my life are faith, family, and football.”

“Being a quarterback is what I do but it does not define who I am,” Carr affirms. “I am first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ.”

I don’t know anything about Derek Carr’s religious affiliation, but I do know this: All of life is about glorifying God. The Psalmist exclaimed. “I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore” (Ps.86:12).

Glorifying God goes beyond just attending a worship service once a week in a church building. It’s a mindset. A lifestyle. A responsibility in every relationship.

Think about the situations and experiences in which God is glorified through our daily lives.

#1 We glorify God by our good works.

In Jesus’ Mountain message he urged His followers to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” In doing so, He said others will see “your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

Little acts of kindness and deeds of service don’t go unnoticed either by those who are recipients of our ministry or by the Lord. A kind word. An encouraging note. A phone call. A text message. A lawn mowed. A meal served. Or even a simple cup of cold water (Mt. 10:42) glorifies God.

#2 We glorify God through our moral purity.

In a world gone mad with lust, license, and self-gratification, Christians view morality and sexual relationships differently. After admonishing the Corinthian brethren to “Flee sexual immorality,” Paul offered this rationale. “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:18-20).

When we resist being squeezed into the world’s mold of morality and be spiritually transformed, we glorify God (Rom. 12:1-2). When we refuse to run with the wild crowd pursuing a life of debauchery and dissipation, they may think it strange, but our choice glorifies God (1 Pet.4:1-4).

#3 We glorify God when we behave honorably even when we’re slandered for our faith.

Peter says that even evildoers, while they wrongfully accuse us, can “see our good deeds and glorify God” (1 Pet. 2:11-12). When we suffer persecution, abuse, and ridicule for our religious convictions, without retaliation or revenge, we glorify God.

#4 We glorify God in our professions, jobs, and occupations.

Not everyone has a professional platform like Derek Carr to express their faith. You’re probably not going to be interviewed by Fox News or CNN at your workplace, or job site. But you can glorify God in the quality and excellence of your work.

Even slaves in New Testament times were commanded to work not with “eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man” (Eph. 6:5-8).

Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed this idea eloquently when he said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. ‘”

Today, tomorrow, and this week, remember each day and in every way, you and I are called to glorify God.

Anne Graham Lotz was right when she wrote, “Our ultimate aim in life is not to be healthy, wealthy, prosperous, or problem-free. Our ultimate aim in life is to bring glory to God.”

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman