Glorify God, Not Self

15 Sep

“When the Christian faith becomes defined by who we are and what we do and not by who Christ is and what he did for us, we miss the gospel — and we, ironically, become more disobedient.”  ~ Tullian Tchividjian

Our life is a wonderful gift from God.  However, our flawed human nature often distracts us from focusing upon the gift that we are and God who has created us.  Instead, our flawed human nature is prone to want to grab all the credit and glory possible.  We are the success that we are because of ourselves, no one else, not even God.  That is what our human nature wants us to believe.

When we cut God out of the equation, we no longer consider what He expects of us.  Instead, we proceed on our own course.  Doing so, of course, causes us to veer from the path that leads to the Kingdom.

We should never be busy about building up our own kingdom.  We should always be busy about building up the Kingdom of God.  The only way to do that is by living as God wants us to live.

That necessitates that we live as faith-filled, virtuous people.  That necessitates that we live by the commandments given to us by God.  That necessitates that we set aside our own vain ambitions and our own thirst for conquest and glory.

God is — or should be — the entire focus of our lives.  If we view everything we do and say through the prism of our faith, we will be less likely to stray because we will be doing as the Lord bids and not as we bid.

FAITH ACTION:  Do all that you do to glorify Christ today and not yourself.