“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20
Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That is the chief end of man. So simple.
It isn’t a long to do list and it isn’t a situationally dependent complicated activity. Just imagine if the answer to this question was all about your credit rating and income, and the house you need to buy. Imagine if our faith said that the chief end of man was to put in a certain number of hours reading, or to have a certain number of children. Imagine if we thought that you had to work exclusively inside the home, or exclusively outside of it. Imagine if the church confessed that we had to have immaculate yards, sew all of our own clothes, grind our own wheat, or get a certain number of meals for the needy delivered. Imagine if the chief end of man was to be fit, or beautiful, or wear designer clothes, or have a home that could be featured on a blog. Many of these things are outside of our control, if not outside of our desire.
Now I know, and you know, that most Christians would not put any of the above random requirements into words as a statement of faith. But many of us slip equally ridiculous things into our own private goals and expectations. So while it is rare (probably not rare enough!) to hear a church state that you have to have at least four children, it is not at all rare to hear the sorrows of a woman who always thought that she had to do just that or she wouldn’t be a real Christian. It is not normal for Christians to express these things positively as a statement of faith, but it is absolutely common place for them to express it negatively as a failure. What I mean by that is, “I am not a real Christian like those other ladies in our church because I work part time outside the home” or “I am just doing the worst job because chronic pain and personal suffering has made it so that I can’t have large groups over for dinner regularly.” Or for a woman to feel less than a good Christian because she still has a bunch of baby weight (or bake sale) weight to lose.
If we hang on to the simplicity of this answer we will see the incredible freedom it offers us. Glorify God. That is your whole purpose. That is the purpose for your life. That is the purpose for your month, your week, your hour, your minute. That is the whole thing. God purchased you (you! with your unique problems and situations and concerns), and having been bought, therefore glorify.
Now I hope you can see with me what an incredible freedom this is. There is no suffering, no situation, no obstacle, no failing, no loss, no head cold, no trouble, no weakness that can get in the way of this. Are you God’s? Therefore glorify. We are all equally equipped every day that we have breath to glorify God, because in every day and in every situation we belong to Him. You can do this in poverty and in sickness, in wealth and joy, in sorrow, in grief. You can glorify Him in your weakness, in your faith, in your hope, in your bad hair day. Glorifying God is something that we can always, at any moment, accomplish. It is never done and it is never over until we go to do it eternally.
So if your marriage has failed, is you struggle with abuse in your past, glorify your God. If your laundry is threatening to overwhelm you, glorify your God. When you are sitting in a chair nursing an infant and your heart wants to count the things you are not getting to, get to the glory and glorify your God. If you feel overwhelmed by the weight you know you need to lose, know that you can begin glorifying God right now! Obedience is glory, faith is glory, hope is glory, work is glory, joy is glory. Glorify Him in your obedience. Glorify Him as you take dominion. Glorify God as you lay your lives on His altar. Are you financially muddled? Glorify God and dig in. Are you full of fear and anxiety? Glorify your God with how you deal with that. Is your heart broken over bad health, or sin, or trouble? Glorify your God as you steward those hardships. We are all of us, every day, in every situation, equipped to glorify our God. Don’t think you will do it after you get a grip, when you have time to get your hair done, after the crisis passes, or when you feel like it. This is the ultimate To Do list, and you always have the means at your disposal. You always belong to Him, therefore glorify.
Accomplish glory. Do it when you rise up and when you lie down. Do it when your house looks lovely and when it doesn’t. Do it when things are going smoothly and when the load you carry seems unbearable. Your God does not require from you that which you cannot offer. In every situation that any human will ever find themselves, there is always an opportunity for glory. Find it, and accomplish it. Those stretches of life where you feel like you never accomplish anything at all, accomplish glory. Those moments where you see your plans or hopes falling apart, accomplish glory. Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. You are His, and He has equipped you in the very act of purchasing you, to glorify Him forever.
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