To God
be the Glory
By
Brita Crouse
“So whether
you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
Did you know that Puffer Fish can
inflate to several times their normal size? They ingest large amounts of water
to make themselves bigger than they regularly are. The reason they do this is
to ward off predators. They may be afraid of being eaten or attacked, so “puffing
up” protects them from any threats.
There are many days where I feel
very similar to a Puffer Fish, but instead of ingesting water, I ingest pride.
My fears cause me to “puff up” so I can keep any threats at bay. I catch myself
with this inflated pride when I am feeling insecure about my abilities or
stressed out about my current situation. Instead of trusting God completely, I
use my own defense - - my inflatable pride - - to make others believe I am
better than I really am.
The truth is: I am no better than
anyone else. What would make me so special or important to be favored over
another?
In his book Crazy Love, Francis
Chan says this about our verse for today: “Frankly, you need to get over
yourself. It might sound harsh, but that’s seriously what it means.” (1) This was the swift kick-in-the-pants
that I needed. It is harsh to hear that, but it’s true. In the grand scheme of
things, our lives are only a vapor and it is what we do with that time that
matters.
Do we glorify God by trusting in our
own strength? Do we glorify Him when we put ourselves before others? Is it
glorifying to God to put others down to puff ourselves up? The answer to all of
these questions should be a resounding, “NO!” Yet, we still find ourselves
doing these things.
Instead of focusing so much time on
ourselves, what if we focused on others? What if we viewed people, tolerable or
intolerable, as if they were Christ Himself? Our attitudes would be completely
different! Plus, our actions, and the motives behind those actions, would be
glorifying to God.
God created everyone. Not just you.
Not just me. Everyone. And He loves His creation. Instead of focusing so much
on ourselves, trying to puff up our egos, let’s love others as if they were
Christ. In doing this, we will bring Him glory and honor.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What person, or group of people,
should you be more loving to this week?
2. Listen to “In The End”
by JJ Heller. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-w4KLSEJUs)
Make a conscious effort this week to act in ways that will glorify God.
FURTHER READING:
(1)
Francis Chan, Crazy Love (Wheaton:
David C. Cook, 2008), 44.
Brita is a licensed
K-12 School Counselor and works as the Non-Public Counselor in Roseville,
Minnesota. For the past eighteen years, she has called Oakwood her home church.
