October 21, 2015
I Corinthians 10:31-33
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
The Bank – there is a Bank into which is deposited on your behalf 86,400 ‘dollars’ every day! Alright, they are not ‘dollars’, but they are seconds – more precious than dollars! And we are called to rightly use them – all of them – for the glory of God and the benefit of other people! Paul wrote of the same idea in I Corinthians 10:31-33:
…whether you eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of
God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit,
but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
• First, in verse 31, “…whether you eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” This should be the foremost guiding principle in every Christian’s life! And how do we know what will bring glory to God? It will be whatever pleases Him.
I have been married to my wonderful wife for almost 47 years. I have learned over the years what pleases her and what does not. How have I learned that? By understanding how she thinks, her personality, her dreams, her goals, her favorite activities, how she relates to other people. It all comes back to the first thing about understanding her that I mentioned – how she thinks. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The heart, in ancient Jewish thinking, included the mind and the whole of the inner person. Whatever comes out of the mouth has gone through the mind! And you can substitute any action of life in place of the mouth! “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks [the hands do, the feet walk, the emotions flow, and plans are made!]…” So, in understanding how my wife thinks, I can then respond properly and please her!
Relate this to God. How do we know what God thinks? We know by studying the mind of God revealed in Jesus Christ who is shown forth in the Bible! It says in Matthew 12:34, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Remember that Jesus is called “The Word of God ” in Revelation 19:13. Jesus Christ – being The Word of God shows forth the mind of God – the thoughts, the personality, the dreams, the goals, the activities of God, and how He relates to people! And how do we get to know The Word of God – Jesus Christ ? Through God’s Word, the Bible! For God’s Word is the record of The Word of God ! When we get to know God and how He thinks, then we can “…do all to the glory of God.”
Do all – that is a tall order! How do we accomplish that? I firmly believe that we start by wanting God’s will and way in our lives. We have discovered that our will and way do not work, do not produce the best results (and often the worst results) in our lives! Then we come to the place with Jesus in the garden, where He prayed in Luke 22:42, “…nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” (See the blog from April 29, 2013 – The Most Important Prayer A Christian Can Pray). We then have to let Him live out that prayer by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is as Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is not longer I who live, but Christ lives
in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
• Second, we are to keep in mind Paul’s goal in verse 33 of our scripture: “I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” Paul made his overriding goal, as it applied to people, “…that they may be saved.” And that should be our goal also – bringing people to eternal life and abundant life in Jesus Christ (see John 10:10; Galatians 5:22, 23).
Back to the idea of The Bank with which we started: You have 86,400 seconds every day credited to our account! What are you doing with all those seconds? Are you using them for the glory of God and the benefit – the eternal benefit – of others? If not, why not?