Based on this passage the chief end of man is to glorify God. Well, what does that mean? Merriam-Webster defines to glorify as: to honor or praise. Well, why are we praising Him? Because he deserves all praise. God has glory already (glory which can be defined as: magnificence or great beauty), and we get to glory (take great pride or pleasure) in Him when we offer Him our praise. The glory of the Lord is made very clear throughout the bible. We by no means could add to it. Exodus 24:17 “And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” In 2 Chronicles 5:14 “the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” 2 Chronicles 7:3 “And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.”
God is not needy or our praise. He is not petty, as would be considered a man looking for praise. Revelation 4:11 states, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” Because God is the beginning and end, has been and always will be, He deserves ultimate praise. Isaiah 42:8 states, "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.” He demands our praise because it is due Him. He did not make man because He was in need of someone to glorify Him. We are to glorify Him for our own benefit, because He is deserving. 1 Chronicles 16:29 “Give unto the Lord the glory due His name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” God was in complete and wonderful relationship within His triune nature before He decided to create man. His reason for creating heaven and earth was not in order that He could satisfy a want for attention, but rather it was that He could share His magnificence with His creation. As an example 1 Chronicles 16:35 says, “And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.” Here the people of God celebrate with God in His glorification. God wants to share His goodness with His creation.
Due to the fall we will never know the full beauty of God’s design for us while still here on earth, but God made us in His image that we could enjoy the community that He had within His triune nature. Genesis 1:26a, “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” God is one- but within one God are three distinct persons with different attributes. 2 Corinthians 13:14 states, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [the Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” So, God the Father is abundant in love, Jesus the Son is abundant in grace, and the Holy Spirit is a strong companion. Can you imagine what living in constant love, grace, and fellowship would look like? God wants that for us, and displaying these attributes is glorifying to Him. In fact, God would have us mirror Him in all things. Ephesians 5:1, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Emulating God is part of what it looks like to follow the commands of God, which is ultimately glorifying to Him.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 claims, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” So, we need to obey His commandments, because that is what we were created to do. Jesus states in Matthew 22:37-38 “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” So loving Him with our whole being would seem like a good start. But remember, Jesus also said in Matthew 22:39-40 “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” So surely we can give God glory by loving our neighbors as well. And as a side note here, what is love? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a states, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” So keep that in mind when you are trying to love one another.
We can also glorify God by good works, as Matthew 5:16 states “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Because obviously bringing others to the point of worshiping God through good example is ultimately glorifying to Him. Romans 15 also details the building up of others for their good as glorifying to God, culminating the idea in verses 5-6, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:12 gives further example of how we are to lead others to glorifying God with our words and actions. “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 4:16 also states, “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” For God does not call us to a life of ease. He did not say that giving Him praise would be without trial. Sometimes our endurance through these trials produces the most profound witness.
The Lord has also given us glory, albeit paling in comparison to God’s glory. Psalm 8:4-5 “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visit him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.” We were made in God’s image. Genesis 1:27, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Therefore it is no wonder that He has instilled in us some of His glory and He has asked us to use that to direct that glory back to Him. For God is our glory: Psalm 62:7 “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.” Therefore, apart from God we have no glory. In Psalm 30:12 the psalmist writes, “To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.” God wants us to use what He has given us to illuminate His goodness. And woe unto him who has received much from the Lord and does not use it accordingly, for as Luke 12:48b states “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” And bringing this together with the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25, we see in versus 29-30 “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” God wants us to glorify Him, and eternity in hell is the consequence of turning our backs on the one purpose God has given us.
As stated before, God does not need us. His glory is preeminent, and can be showcased without us. Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” And in Luke 19, as the disciples are being rebuked by the Pharisees for bringing glory to God as Jesus makes His way into Jerusalem, there Jesus states, (vs40b) “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” However, God has designed us for this purpose: Exodus 9:16 “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”
Glorifying God is inevitable, all will eventually bend a knee in praise to the Creator. Revelation 15:4 “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” However, if we willingly take on our role as worshipers of our Creator while we live on this earth, we will be blessed to spend eternity in heaven with Him rather than in the “furnace of fire: [where] there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42). So, let us glorify God through our worship and praise, and in the actions of our daily lives. Because God has given us a purpose, and that is to glorify Him with all the talents and attributes He has provided us. Failing to do this is not to God’s detriment, for His glory stands with or without our praise. However, whether it be willing or unwilling we will all eventually give God the glory due Him. Our choice now will only effect where we ourselves spend eternity.
I would like to be clear here also, as it is our sole God-given purpose to glorify Him, this is the only task our lives should be fully devoted to. While it is not wrong to be successful by the world’s standards, it is also not necessary, and could ultimately be distracting. If our eyes are being pulled away from Christ by anyone or anything, we are losing focus on what is most important. Exodus 20:3 states, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” God is a jealous God, and must be the center of all our worship. Woe to him who is distracted by the world.
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