Recently, I read a quote that stopped me dead in my tracks. The quote said this:
Too often we ask God to glorify His name with ours.
After reading it, I went back and read it again, and again. I could not stop thinking about that quote. Then I read Psalm 115:1 which says, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name goes ALL the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”
Then I began thinking of all the times in my life where I was guilty of asking God to glorify His name with mine. I thought of the times when I have been teaching a group of teenagers about the truths of God’s word and I want them to tell me they liked my teaching. I thought of when I put together a worship service and I nearly expected people to compliment my creativity. I thought of when I’ve desired to go on mission trips to 3rd world countries and make a difference, when deep down inside what I really wanted was for people back home to comment on my “boldness” and “willingness” to follow God. The list could go on and on. Sadly, I began to realize how often I’ve attempted to stick my name in the limelight. I realize that doing that casts a shadow on God’s glory.
Now, I have a feeling that I am not the only one that struggles with this. One of the reasons is because our culture is full of opportunities to capture some glory…
Sports companies like Nike, Reebok, and others are willing to pay professional athletes ridiculous amounts of money to promote their line of shoes, clothing, etc. In music/media we spend money on iTunes and other similar downloading programs which give a portion of the money to the writing artist and keep a portion for themselves. Our culture is obsessed with sharing dividends, or for lack of better terms-glory. Now, I want to clarify: I am not trying to criticize our culture’s way of promoting products for business. What I am saying is, that’s not the way that God works.
God clearly deserves ALL the glory in our lives. It is HE who has the power to save us not the other way around! But, instead of giving God all the glory, we have been mentally programmed to try and take some ourselves. The Church is not exempt, in fact, we must be very aware of this temptation because this mentality could easily rise up within the Church. When the people of God attempt to steal God’s glory it points others in the opposite direction of God.
Is this something you’ve struggled with? Unfortunately, I have. What areas of your life do you need to re-evaluate to make sure that God is getting ALL, not just some of the glory?
Crisman Koechig is the husband of his wife, Ashley. A student of Toccoa Falls College. And a Youth Pastor to his awesome students @ Family Worship Center in Indiantown, Florida.