Title: For the Glory of God/2004.6.20
For content glory
1 Corinthians 10:31-33, Romans 14:7-9
When the entomologist Bacon studied insects, he described three kinds of people. The first ant-like person is like a person who is addicted to workaholics only for himself, but does not depend on or harm others. Second, a spider-like person is a very selfish person who uses others to deceive and causes great damage and suffering to others for their own greed. Third, a person like a bee is a person who sacrifices and labors to provide honey that is very sweet and good medicine to others.
How should a person live this parable? What should I live for? This is a good metaphor to teach us what is the purpose of life.
To live like a human being, like a bee, a person must do at least two things.
The first is a job. This is what you have to do to live. You have to go to work to make a living. You must work diligently. You have to work hard to raise money. But people never live to make money. You don't live to work. I don't live to go to work. You don't live to do business. Those are just things you have to do to survive.
Second, you must have a purpose in life. What am I living for? What is the ultimate concern of my life? is it happiness? Then what is happiness? There must be an answer to this question. Of course, I don't think everyone will live by asking and answering such serious and philosophical questions. It is simply living because it is bought, and it is probably the mind of ordinary people to live in abundance and enjoy life without problems.
But Christians must be different. Christians are not ordinary people. Because Christians are covenant people. Because Christians are born again by the grace of Jesus Christ. Christians are people who live by the principles of heaven. Christians are people who live by the word. Christians live for glory.
God delights in glorifying Him. Therefore, we should set the goal of our lives to glorify God through everything we do, collect money and do business. The criteria for evaluating a person's personality are not evaluated according to the situation or status he is in, but depend on what purpose he is living for and what his lifelong wishes are. For example, if his lifelong wish is to dress well, eat well, and live comfortably, then he is a one-dimensional person and does not have the right values in life.
In today's text, the apostle Paul is talking about the Christian life. The Christian life, whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, is all for the glory.
Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31
If we live, we live for the Lord; if we die, we die for the Lord.
Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. Romans 14:8
It means to live for the glory of the Lord. It tells us to put God at the center of our lives. The message is to make the goal of your life the Lord.
There has never been a time when selfishness and individualism were as prevalent as these days. Material abundance and civilization are advancing brilliantly, but the human mind is becoming more isolated and exhausted. Why?
It is because of the false consciousness that money is everything due to the economic logic of capitalism. The formation of the original capital came from the Christian spirit. The original spirit of capitalism is that Christians, who lived with a sense of calling, regarded what they were doing as work, and while they were doing their best, money was collected, capital was formed, and the capital was used to do the work that pleases God. However, the sense of vocation from faith disappeared and only capital remained, resulting in a corrupted capitalism. We must return to the Christian spirit. A right view of materialism and a sense of stewardship that God has entrusted to you for work is the right Christian spirit.
And why are people less happy while living in such an abundance of material? It is because of the careerism that one has to excel and rise to a higher position than others. Of course, being the head is more glorious to God than being the tail. You may even have a greater influence of faith. However, when there is only status and faith in God is not clear in the heart, the life cannot exert a good influence. Only vulgar careerism will remain. Christians are to live a life of glory, no matter where they are or what they do.
It is because they do not fight the spiritual battle thoroughly. Man has a fallen nature. After Adam and Eve's sin, human nature was corrupted. This fallen nature always tends to be self-centered. Therefore, if we live indifferently in the world, no one can help but become selfish. Christians who are born again through the blood of Jesus Christ must live in the world with the 'heart of Jesus'. We have to fight the heart that keeps trying to be selfish and self-centered so that we can have the heart of Jesus. We must fight the spiritual battle fiercely. We must read the Word, strive to live by the Word, and pray for help.
I sometimes have dreams like this.
A young man went to work. How great was the joy when you broke through the door of that difficult workplace? I got my first paycheck. What will you do with that salary? Hey! There must have been a lot of things I really wanted to do. I took it to my father. Did you give it to your father? no. I tell my father. 'Father, I got my first paycheck. My decision is this. How hard have you been struggling to pay your living expenses? One more month, please. I want to give the whole of this first salary to God.' In fact, such a thing happened in my ministry.
There was a person who had a lot of money and was rich. I was thinking of buying a new car. People encouraged me to buy this or that car based on economic power or social status. Then this person thinks. 'Yeah, it would be great to drive such a car... Of course, I deserve that car. However, if I lower my heart just one step, it is said that at least one church can be established abroad, so let me glorify God with that.' If there is such a person, I think that no matter what kind of car he buys and drives, he will have in his heart many times the joy of driving a car that costs hundreds of millions of dollars.
It's been sixtieth. It is said that all the children are generous enough to serve the 60th birthday. At that time, after telling all the children to gather, this man says: 'Thank you so much for your generosity. But it is a blessing to have lived healthy until this point, so I hope I can use that money to build a new church. The children's willingness to participate together greatly glorifies God. This, too, actually happened in the ministry.
He had a good life and was able to have good belongings. Then one day, my heart was moved. It is good and proud to wear a beautiful ring on your hand, but the more precious and proud thing is to participate in the work of the Lord. I thought. It was a very expensive ring, but it was generously given out for missionary work. It actually happened in our church.
There are also things like this. Working for a year, taking a summer vacation and having a good time with your family is something that cannot be compared to any other pleasure. However, in order to fulfill the mission God has entrusted to us - young people who have used up their golden vacation as a summer Bible school teacher... In fact, this has happened many times in our church as well. It is a way of living for glory.
It is because of these devotions that the Church exists today. These devotions come together to make the church the church. Faith to live for this glory is what changes the world. If you look at the history of faith and the history of the church, you have never been moved by common sense people. Because common sense people can only do common sense things. The history of faith always goes beyond common sense. Living for true glory is sometimes accompanied by adventure. The Church has worked miracles through the devotion of these people.
When the church was corrupt and decaying from its roots, the most important slogan of the reformers who started the church reform movement was 'only for glory' (Sola Deo Gloria). It was the power of this belief that was able to break through the Roman Catholic Church, which had tremendous power at the time. Only because they were determined to live for the glory of the Lord, they were able to fight the battle at the cost of their lives.
Albert Schweitzer, who is revered as a saint, wrote this verse in his autobiography.
'It was a clear summer - 1896. On Christmas morning, when I wake up in Gynsbach, I must not take this happiness for granted. What do I have to pay for this? I was obsessed with this thought. Outside the window, birds were chirping. After some quiet thought, I came to an idea. In other words, suppose I was allowed to live for study and art until I turned 30. And from then on, let us devote ourselves to human service for glory.??
Schweitzer was a doctor of medicine, theology, music, and philosophy, but as he decided, he went to Africa and dedicated his life as a doctor for Africans.
What is the purpose of your life? What is that wish? Is it a wish that God can see beautifully? Please live with the Word-centered, faith-centered view of life and living.
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that whatever your profession is, the goal of your life as a Christian is to have faith to live 'for the glory'. Sola Deo Gloria! May this become the slogan that governs your life, I pray in the name of the Lord.
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