Glorify the Creator

This month I visited New York City with my Dad and my sister. We were three out of several thousand people roaming the streets surrounded by tall buildings and bustling businesses. Looking up at the sky, framed in by metal and windows and colorful billboards, my Dad remarked, "It's crazy when you think about it. God created people, and He gave us these minds, and we can build all of this." New York is a prime example of the wonders mankind can build with their minds and hands, and that makes it a pretty good example of what God can do, too. He created the people that built the city, and every individual life traversing its streets. This might not be where most people's minds instinctively go, but once the thought is there, it's undeniable. We serve an amazing God. When faced with something spectacular, or interesting, or exciting, we have two choices. We can enjoy the experience without a second thought for the God who made it possible, effectively turning a good thing into an idol, or we can take the opportunity to worship the Creator.

James 1:17 puts into plain terms why we should glorify God whenever we see something impressive here on earth: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Everything comes from the Lord. Even if it's built by human hands, the glory should go to the One who formed the hands. This is like the difference between praising a machine for a product it makes and praising the inventor who made the machine and keeps it running. Earlier in this chapter, in verse 11, God gives a warning to those who build up earthly riches and don't remember to praise Him for it: "For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business."

Romans 1:18 is another passage that speaks about the destruction of the sinful: "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness." Verses 21-25 of that chapter go into greater detail about these people: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. . . . They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen." Unfortunately, this is the same mistake that many of us make today–worshiping the thing created instead of the Creator.

This has been a problem since Old Testament times. Most children have probably learned about the Tower of Babel in Sunday school. This commonly taught story might just be the most catastrophic example of people worshiping their own work instead of God. "Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth,'" (Genesis 11:4). Because the people were coming together to worship earthly things and seek personal glory, God confused their languages to prevent them from understanding each other. By doing this, He stopped them from building the sinful tower. "So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city," (Genesis 11:9).

God created each and every one of His people with certain capabilities. People have been able to do some pretty amazing things with these capabilities, but the glory should always go back to the Lord who makes it all possible. Scripture says that destruction will come on those whose eyes are on worldly things. As Christians, we shouldn't be distracted from our Creator by impressive or exciting experiences in this world, but we should instead use everything as a chance to glorify Him. We should obey passages like Psalm 100:1-3, which says:

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

    come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

    It is he who made us, and we are his;

    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." 

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