On Living for God’s Glory

Verses:

Ephesians 5:15-16: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Micah 6:8: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Psalm 90:12: So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Thoughts:

Our entire lives are meant to be lived for God’s glory. Sometimes it is easy to say that, then forget that necessitates that every single day, every hour is meant to be devoted to Him. Every deed that we do should come from a desire to glorify God.

The Christian life is one where the person seeks in all things to glorify God. Although this includes church services, it is not only those. Worship in the Christian life is not confined to one to two hours on Sunday. Christians are to live a life of worship, glorifying God in their eating and drinking. And in our day and age, this also ties into what we look at on social media, how we text, and what music we listen to.

With phones, we have a world of images and information that our predecessors would not be able to imagine. We can read new information in the blink of an eye.

You can find the answer to almost any scientific question you can think of. And, now we have AI. These are amazing resources. But, we must be wise with the way that we use them. Technology can easily be used for evil, or even not used for evil but allowing evil to slip in. 

Not only that, but it is a direct channel from the world into your day to day. Everytime you go on social media or listen to certain songs, the world is lightly tapping you on the shoulder and tugging your hand. Do not give in and follow. Protect yourself and be wise. Stop yourself before you go too far. 

I’ve heard it said before, that the wise man is not just one who can resist temptation, but the one who removes its potential before it starts. For example, if I say that I want to resist eating a bowl of ice cream, the best way to do this is just to not buy ice cream, rather than “strengthening my resistance” by buying it and sticking it on my counter for me to see. 

My point in this? If you struggle with certain temptations to look at things or waste your time, just remove the possibility. I personally have struggled with spending too much time on Instagram. So, I asked someone else to put a screen time on the app so I couldn’t stay on it longer than a certain amount of time. I’m not saying you have to do this. What I am saying, is that you should be mindful of how you are using your time and what you are putting in your mind.

Fill your mind with good things, as the verse says. You can’t just expect that to happen. Rather than just creating a “void” from the bad things, find good things to fill it with. For example, find songs that you enjoy that don’t have bad things in them. There are a lot of songs out there. You don’t have to listen to that one. Find another. 

Summary: We as Christians are meant to live our lives for God. To do this, take every moment captive. Be mindful of how you use your time. Don’t let the world get a place in your mind that it should never have. And, don’t make excuses for certain media or songs. Worship God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mk.12:30).

Ask yourself: In what ways can I “clean out” my feed, music, or even photos? In what ways can I speak truth and goodness and guard against the world? Where am I making excuses for worldly things or not using my time well?