STEWARDSHIP FOCUS
TO GOD BE THE GLORY Dr. Joseph Stowell
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6
Johann Sebastian Bach, who had a clear view of God’s calling in life, lived, worked, and composed for the glory of God. If anyone had a right to gloat in his attainments, it was he.
He came from a long line of musicians and achieved praise in his lifetime and lasting acclaim after his death. Yet at the end of every masterpiece, he sketched the letters SDG, which stand for Soli Deo Gloria, “To God alone be glory.”
Unlike Bach, if we are not careful, we tend to live for our own acclaim and the praise and recognition of others. The net result is that we end up living for our own glory and not for Christ’s. This is a serious offense to God, for He shares His glory with no one; and all we have and are able to do is totally because of His gifts and grace in our lives.
We are called to be servants, not superstars. Paul keys in on this principle when he observes that even Jesus came as a servant and served our needs all the way to the cross (Philippians 2:5-11). And when He served well, God exalted Jesus by giving Him “the name that is above every name” (v. 9).
If you are wondering what’s in it for you… wonder no more. Peter writes that those of us who humble ourselves under the authority of God are, in due time, exalted by God. What we need to keep in mind is that affirmation and exaltation are not what we grab for; they are what God gives us in His time and in His way. For some of us, it may be the ultimate affirmation in eternity, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21 KJV).
A willingness to be faithful in all things regardless of recognition or acclaim liberates us to live lives that reflect Paul’s words “So … whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1Corinthians 10:31).