Gloriously Ordinary--October 10, 2022

Gloriously Ordinary--October 10, 2022

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God." [1 Corinthians 10:31]

There's an old Jack Handey line that makes me laugh still; one of his "Deep Thoughts" of Saturday Night Live fame went like this:  "I hope that when I die, a lot of people will say of me, 'That guy sure owed me a lot of money'."

It makes me chuckle, but it also makes me think about the opposite as well--what would it look like to live my life in such a way that it makes people praise God?  My goodness, that sounds beautiful, doesn't it?  Imagine it--what would it take to leave the sort of impression on others that your life brings glory to God?

I think when we hear that phrase, "do everything for the glory of God," we might immediately jump to the conclusion that you can only do that with big, spectacular accomplishments, or creating timeless masterpieces in art or music like Mozart, or causing some pivotal change in the world that altered the course of world events.  You might know that Johann Sebastian Bach famously wrote the words, "Soli Deo Gloria"--to God alone be the glory--on the music that he wrote.  And if you do know that, it can be really hard to think that our efforts will hardly compare to a genius like his, or the magnificence of a Gothic cathedral, or the way countless professional football players seem to dedicate their touchdowns or game wins to God [somehow suggesting that God is rooting only for their team, I guess?].  By comparison, the things you and I do in the course of an ordinary day can sure seem like small potatoes.  I'm never going to write a symphony, or the great American novel.  I'm never going to win public office.  And I am certain I am never going to score a touchdown in a major league stadium.  So... how am I at all going to give God glory with my small efforts and actions?

Well, this is part of the surprising beauty to Paul's words here.  Because Paul doesn't mention the need for any of us to paint another version of da Vinci's "The Last Supper."  He doesn't talk about composing an epic poem or even a haiku, and he doesn't mention anything about dedicating a sports trophy to God.  Paul starts with the commonest of things--eating and drinking.  Paul seems to think we can bring glory to God in the ordinariness of our daily routines, all the way down to a weekday lunch.  To borrow the words often attributed to Mother Teresa, "we cannot do great things--only small things with great love."  In other words, rather than picturing a concert hall, an art gallery, a football stadium, a battlefield, or the halls of Congress when we think of "bringing glory to God," Paul points us to our kitchen tables and the humble meals we share there.

In the bigger conversation here in First Corinthians, of course, Paul has been talking on and off about the larger question about whether it matters if your meat came from a pagan sacrifice before you bought it at the marketplace.  And the bottom line has been that we are free from worrying about the meat itself, so instead we can be attentive to being considerate of the people around us.  If eating particular foods will cause offense for someone who is at the table with you, you don't have to be a jerk and insist on eating it then.  And if nobody else has a problem with it, you can enjoy the food in front of you and give thanks to God for the bounty of daily bread.  The point is that even in our eating and drinking, we can act in ways that embody the kindness of Jesus--and thereby bring glory to God--or we can be jerks about it and get folks all bent out of shape over things that don't have to be a big deal.  The radical thing here is that God is glorified, not by stone monuments or a win for your political party, but by genuine kindness.

This isn't usually how we think about our actions "bringing glory to God." We are used to thinking we have to do something to make ourselves famous--that what God really needs is a boost in publicity from our accomplishments.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  God doesn't need celebrity endorsements.  But God can be glorified when we who belong to the people of God are known for love that meets people where they are at, sees them and honors them, and can be gracious and patient with them.  God is glorified when our lives are marked by Jesus' kind of love--and as Paul will famously say in a couple of chapters, genuine love doesn't insist in getting its own way but bears with the needs of the other.  In other words, if you really want to bring glory to God in your life, be the kind of person whose love is genuine and contagious.  You can forget about writing a best-seller or becoming a movie star.  Love like Jesus--let that be your "Soli Deo Gloria" written at the top of your life.

It is humbling to think how much of our life's work and our supposed accomplishments will be forgotten and crumble to dust after enough time.  But the ways we love, right here and now, will be the most powerful way we can give glory to God that lasts and leaves ripple marks on the world, radiating outward into the boundless motion of the sea.

I think, if I get to the end of my life and someone can say, "I saw a glimpse of what God's love is like in him," that will have been a life well-spent.  And it will have been, I dare say, glorious.

Lord God, let us bring glory to you in the ways we love in common places like our tables and workplaces today.