In this essay I want to present to you what I consider the number one forgotten duty of a Christian. This forgotten duty is not prayer, witnessing, obedience, or Bible reading. We hear about those all the time, we remember those well. The forgotten duty that we all neglect and fail miserably in is to
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; [Psalm 29:2]
There is only one person in the universe to whom glory is due. That person is not just worthy of some glory, but an infinite amount of glory! When someone does something nice for us, we thank them once and forget about it. If someone did something really nice for us, we might thank them twice. But the created beings in heaven glory in God continually. No rests, no breaks, just non-stop praise. And they never tire doing it.
and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. [Rev 4:8]
They are doing this because God has created all things.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. [Rev 4:11]
Everything is under the complete control of God. When we look around us and it looks like things are out of control, let us be singled minded like those 4 living creatures and give
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; [Psalm 29:2]
The circumstances on the earth did not effect the 4 creatures from glorying in God, nor did they bring into question whether God was in control or not. They have never stopped glorying in God to ask Him if certain events are going to hinder His plans. And neither should we. Based on the works God has accomplished, many reasons can be constructed on why God is due glory. But none of those reasons are necessary. The only reason we need is that GOD IS.
Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. [Exodus 3:14]
God is worthy of Glory for who He is alone apart from any of His great and awsome works.
We just saw why God is due glory, but we must also know how to give God glory. And that we learn through the scriptures. After the ark of God was brought back to Jerusalem, David wrote the following psalm;
Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; [1 Chr 16:8-12]
We are told to
Which when all boiled down simply translates to brag on God! Tell God what a mess your life would be without him, and tell Him where you might be today if He let you stay your course. If you see a down and out person, brag about God to them. Tell them
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: [1 Sam 2:8]
Tell them He did it for you, and will do it for them! Brag on God in all you do. And when you are done bragging, brag some more!
At this point I would like to discuss when to give God Glory. Whenever I hear Christians testify, it is usually for some prayer that was answered, or some unexpected blessing in their life. And these things are good to praise and glorify God for. But suppose during a period of time in your life, no prayers were answered as you prayed, or no unexpected blessing were bestowed upon you? Then what? Is this a time when you have nothing to glory in God for? We must get to the point in our lives where we praise God for everything, "good" or "bad" in our life. In fact something we deem "bad" happening to us, may be for our greater good. We have no right to complain to God about things He is doing in our life. Peter even tells us to glory in our suffering.
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. [1 Pet 4:16]
Unless we can look at a situation through the eyes of God, we cannot determine what good God has purposed for it in our life. In fact, God has told us that;
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. [Rom 8:28]
So therefore, even though we may not understand what God is doing through the current circumstances in our life, we can certainly glory in Him that they will work out for our good. I love reading the Psalms which declare how great our God is.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
The Psalmist is commanding his soul to bless or glory in God.
O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. [NKJV Psalm 104:1-2]O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions- This great and wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small and great. [NKJV Psalm 104:24-25]
Has it ever occurred to you how the earth is held together? Is it by orbits, and gravity as science tells us? No, most of the time scientists are just stating decrees of God that they have discovered. They do not have a clue as to why any "laws of science" work the way they do. They are just stating decrees of God that they have observed. If God should decree any of them to stop working, everything as we know it will fall apart.
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. [Col 1: 16-17]
For that we must never stop glorying in God for.
At this point, I would like to clear this doctrine of all objections. It may be objected that one could glory in accomplishing a certain thing for the Kingdom of God. But this must be rejected, for it is simply boasting in oneself.
It is a dangerous thing to attribute any glory to anything or anyone other than God. For these are the seeds of idolatry. Everything we see around us was created, and is not worthy of the least amount of praise. It is only the Creator of these things who is worthy of the glory. Paul gives a strong warning against glorying in anything other than the Creator.
who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. [NKJV Rom 1:25]
If a thought comes to you of something you have achieved, accomplished, or attained, do not glory in it. For if you credit these accomplishments to yourself, you have robbed God of the glory due his name. For it is written:
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; [Psalm 100:3]Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, [Jer 9:23-24]
Therefore, it is not even scriptural to glory by saying "God did such and such through me"!
Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? [NKJV Isaiah 10:15]
Could not God have chosen someone else to accomplish that same task? He certainly could have, therefore one can only glory in what God did, and not through whom he used.
We have no grounds to glory in anything God chooses us for. God chooses His vessels by His grace, and for His glory.
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: [Acts 9:15]
If anyone had grounds to glory in accomplishments, it would be Paul. Paul could say "look at all the books of the New Testament God used me to write", and "God used me as a foreign missionary". But Paul knew that he was the chief of sinners before God touched his life. All he could find in his life to glory in was the cross.
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, [Gal 6:14]
Anything that one could credit to Paul as having accomplished, he credited it to God.
Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; [Eph 3:7-8]
I'm living today only because of God's grace. When I was around 6 years old, I was standing next to a road ready to cross. As far as I could see there was not a car in site so I darted across the road. As soon as I was in the road I heard a horn honk. I then turned my head to the right and saw a car skidding to a stop 10 feet way from me. But for the grace of God, my life would have ended after only 6 short years. For that I must give God glory.
By the time I was 23 years old, I was wondering why I even existed. I can remember crying on my couch, and asking myself "Am I just here to die?". I had an emptiness inside, and tried to fill that emptiness with what I thought best. Each thing I tried took me further from the solution.
Then one day the gospel came to me. A friend asked me if I wanted Jesus as my savior. I said to myself, I do not know all that will result from having Jesus as my savior, but it has to be better than what I have now. I said yes! And for that event, I give God all the glory. I was not smart enough to find God. The results of my searching make that very clear.
If you have never given God glory by agreeing with Him that:
do it today. It is foolish to not make peace with an enemy who is a consuming fire, and can turn every blessing you have in your life to a curse.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. [Malachi 2:2]
I therefore urge you to do that today. Call upon his Son. He is rich in mercy, and stands ready to forgive.