In my last post, I spoke about the specific and immediate goal of ministering to God’s people. But what is the ultimate goal? How does the mission of SeqHim converge with and support the ministry of the Church?
I mentioned what I believe is the ultimate goal in my last post, and I want to expand upon it here a bit: bring glory to God. That ought to be the underlying reason for anything we do (or do not do). Otherwise, what is the point? Do everything you do for the glory of God, and work hard at it. Yes, it is good to just chill from time to time, but even that brings glory to God…it acknowledges a) that God designed us to need rest and recreation; b) that our efforts are not nearly as important as we usually think; and c) that God himself rested and commands us to rest as well. And so, go play golf, take a nap, or watch HGTV this weekend knowing that you may be bringing great glory to God in the process!
Given that it is good to rest and it is good to work, what do we work at? What work brings glory to God? Is it only “ministry” work? Am I bringing glory to God when I go to church, serve in the nursery, help little old ladies across the street? Sure, but does that mean that I am not bringing glory to God when I am writing a computer program, changing diapers, taking out the trash, leading a marketing project, punishing the kids, performing financial analysis, studying for a test at school, and so on? I certainly hope not, because most of us spend most of our time doing these things that are usually perceieved as less or even non-spiritual.
Then how do we glorify God in everything we do, whether it is a ‘rest’ activity or a ‘work’ activity? Here is a phrase that has helped me tremendously through the years: ‘do the right thing for the right reason’. As long as you are doing the right thing (with pure motives) in any situation, you are bringing glory to God. Sounds easy, right? Ha! If you think that is easy, you have never really been serious about it because it’s incredibly hard! As a matter of fact, it’s impossible as long as we remain in this fallen world prior to our perfection. And so, allow me to revise our goal statement to make it a bit more accurate to what is really expected of us: “strive to do the right thing for the right reason”. We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength…to do the very best with everything God has given us to do the right thing. Thankfully, God’s grace enables us to try and still accepts us when we fail! But the true measure of our faith is the effort we put into doing the right thing, purifying our motives and avoiding the wrong thing…regardless of the personal risk.
So, may this be an encouragement to you today. Strive to do the right thing, moment by moment, for the right reasons. Make it your number one priority, higher than any any other objective you have for today. Expend yourself learning how to determine what the right thing is, seeking the Lord in His Word, asking the Him for moment by moment wisdom, trusting that He has granted you that wisdom (James 1:5), and then acting accordingly, confidently and courageously. In this way, you will be a delight to the Lord, He will be glorified, you will be transformed, others around you will be loved as Christ loves them, and others will be attracted to the Savior through your example of Him.
