All For God’s Glory
Why do you do what you do?
Verse of the Day
‘So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.’
Today’s Devotional
There is a lot that goes into our decision making process about what we choose to do or not do in our lives. In my experience, much of this process is subconscious, especially if my spiritual condition is not where it needs to be. If I have not taken the time to pray, to be silent to listen for God, to read the Word, and to journal, I often make rash decisions about how to spend my time, what words come out of my mouth, and how I react to others.
As I am studying humility and longing to be a more humble servant of God, I am becoming aware that it is important to ask myself why I do things. Or why I want to do certain things. For instance, if I am reading a good book, that’s all I want to do. But if I ask myself why I want to read (at times when I need to do other things), it is all about my pleasure. There is a time and a place to enjoy a good book, because rest is important and commanded. But when I am wanting to shirk certain duties in favor of curling up with my book, it’s all about my pleasure.
The same activity can be done for many different motivations. Today’s verse is telling me that my motivations need to be checked and probably realigned. If I am cooking dinner for my family, am I giving God glory and thanks for the provision of the food, the tools I have to cook, and the people I am feeding? Or am I grumbling about having yet another responsibility? If I am exercising, am I giving God the glory for my functional body and trying to maintain and care for the body I was given? Or am I trying to fit into an image of what I think I am supposed to look like to gain your approval? As I go to work, am I complaining about my commute, my boss, my co-workers, or the grind of it all? Or am I giving God the glory for His provision of a job, His provision of my abilities to do that job, and asking that He help me each day to be a representative of His love to everyone I encounter?
We have been given freedom in Christ. But that freedom comes with responsibility. The following is an excerpt from bibleref.com about how we choose our actions: “Will this activity be helpful to me or will it cause me to be “mastered”? (1 Corinthians 6:12) Will doing this build up others and be good for my neighbor as well as for myself? (1 Corinthians 10:23–24) And now, will this choice to eat or drink or do anything else bring glory to God? In all cases, the question of whether this activity will bring me pleasure, material gain, or status should not be the deciding factor alone even for those who are free in Christ. Just as anything done without conviction is sin (Romans 14:23), Christians should not participate in anything they don’t feel brings glory to God.”
Humility requires that I analyze my motivations and make choices based on bringing glory to God. Humility requires that my pleasure and satisfaction not be a guiding force in my life. Humility requires that I accept that my life is not about me. In my experience, this is a very difficult shift to make and requires constant attention to my motivations.
For today, I am going to practice asking myself “why”. Why do I want to do what I am doing? Why do I feel pulled to certain activities? When I look at my list for the day, why are those things on my list?
When I am able to look at my motivations, maybe I will be able to humbly ask God to show me what will bring Him glory. Hopefully I will be willing to choose to have a grateful heart with every action I take. Because our gratitude brings God glory, no matter what we are doing.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Why do you do what you do? Think about your day yesterday and write down some of your motivations for what you did.
How can you shift your perspective about today to one that focuses on bringing glory to God?
What can you do for someone else today with a grateful heart?
How does your gratitude bring glory to God? What are you grateful for today?