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“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
There is nothing that transcends this God-centered quality in His image-bearers. If your chief aim in life is to spread the fame of God, you can be comforted by the fact that even sin or sinful temptations will not overcome your dogged and unflinching determination to be like Jesus everywhere you go (Ephesians 5:1).
And whenever sin does make its advances, your habit of glorifying God will win the war against sin’s intent. When the guardian of your heart is the glory of the Lord, you’re in the best place to be a good friend, a great lover, and a wonderful spouse. There are many options available to help you more effectively glorify God. Here are three of them:
Passion – Everyone is passionate about something, and that “something” defines you. Nobody lacks passion. If you look long enough, you will find the thing that makes you emote. Desires to have a great job, rear spiritual children, and build a secure future, but when it comes to the Lord, there must be a preeminent longing for His glory that is so high that all other “loves” look like hate by comparison (Luke 14:26-27).
Repentance – Nobody has been able to pull off perfection but Jesus. Your lack of complete sanctification means you and your spouse are imperfect sinners on your best days. Your spouse has sinned against you and God, and you have done similarly. You do not have to be discouraged by this if your chief aim is to glorify God. Glorifying God does not imply perfection.
Living a perfect life is contrary to the Bible—for all have sinned (Romans 3:23), and if anyone says they don’t sin, they are liars (1 John 1:7-10). But do not fear; there is good news. A person whose primary goal is to glorify God has a great backup plan because that person is a repenting person. Though you will have lapses in judgment, like when you do something unkind to your spouse, you will respond quickly with a broken-hearted confession (Psalm 51:17) and a request for forgiveness.
Community – A God-impassioned, repenting person will seek similar friends. You will always find your kind. The question then becomes, “What kind of people are you pursuing?” The Lord wired you with a herd mentality, which is why you seek community. You long for a community because God made you in His image; you reflect the original community’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). You can measure an individual by assessing their associations—the things they try to fill their lives, and nobody surrounds themselves with things they do not like.
Rank the three tools that help you glorify God—passion, repentance, and community. Which of those three do you need more help in developing? Find a mentor (preferably your spouse) to develop a plan to change what you need to change so you can more effectively spread the fame of God in your life and marriage.
Rick Thomas leads a training network for Christians to assist them in becoming more effective soul care providers. RickThomas.Net reaches people around the world through consulting, training, podcasting, writing, counseling, and speaking.
In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology, and in 1991 he received a BS in Education. In 1993 he was ordained into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, CA. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).