1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1Co 10:32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
1Co 10:33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
Doing all we do for the Glory of God
When General Lee heard that Stonewall Jackson had been wounded at Chancellorsville, he sent him a note which read:
General; I have just received your note, informing me that you were wounded. I cannot expre4ss my regrets at the occurrence. Could I have directed events, I should have chosen for the good of the country to be disabled in your place.
I congratulate you upon the victory, which is due to your skill and energy. Very respectfully your obedient servant, R.E. Lee, General”
When the note was delivered and read to Jackson, he turned to the wall for a few minutes and then look back at Lee’s aide and said, “General Lee is very kind, but he should give the praise to God.”
1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
ACC - Verse 31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink. This direction should be strictly and properly applied to the case in hand; that is, to the question about eating and drinking the things that had been offered in sacrifice to idols.
Or whatsoever ye do. In all the actions and plans of life; whatever be your schemes, your desires, your doings, let all be done to the glory of God.
The great composer Bach said, “All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul’s refreshment; hwere this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub.”
He always headed his compositions “J.J.” The letters stood for “Jesus Juva” which means “Jesus Help Me.”
He ended them “S.D.G.” the letters stood for “Soli Dei Gratia” which means “to God alone be the praise.”
Vs. 31 Do all to the glory of God. The phrase, "the glory of God," is equivalent to the honour of God; and the direction is, that we should so act in all things as to honour him as our Lawgiver, our Creator, our Redeemer; and so as to lead others by our example to praise him and to embrace his gospel.
Joe Hall - Our Lord deserves glory, He desires glory, and the Psalmist declares, He is due glory.
As believers we give God glory both with our lips and our life.
As we look at Paul’s words we see that it is giving God glory with our life that is his focus. He talks about what we do and not necessarily what we say.
1Co 10:32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
Barnes - Verse 32. Give none offence. Be inoffensive; that is, do not act so as to lead others into sin.
Hall goes on and says, Ray Baughman said in his book Abundant Life; “He said of the 200 people that are found in the average church on Sunday Morning, about 25 of those people will be carrying the load for the entire congregation.
The rest of the people will help a little here and there, but they are not the kind that the pastor can really depend on.
Among the 25 working will be some who are not to be classified as spiritual workers, but are helping out in the church program just as they do in civic organizations and clubs.
After a year or so they get tired and quit.
Out of the 25 will be about 5 people who can be classified as spiritual Christians, people who have a strong devotional life, who spend time each day in prayer, and who love to read and study their Bibles, and who are concerned about the lost.
Even though that sounds hard, that is a pretty fair assessment in most churches.
The majority of the believers are not spiritually mature. The majority are not seeking to grow spiritually.
A life that glorifies God seeks to grow spiritually and desires to spiritually mature.
It’s the 80/20 principle. 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people
Its not about what I or you do, its about God getting the glory and that souls seek and find our Savior.
1Co 10:33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
Ray Scott - We live in a “me-centric” world. i.e., everything revolves around ME … my happiness … my wants … my pleasure … ME!
Up until 450 years ago, everybody believed that the universe, and the sun, and the planets revolved around the earth. THEN, in 1543, Copernicus told them that the earth wasn’t the center of the universe. 50 years later, Galileo said that the planets revolved around the sun. They were so opposed to this idea, that they threw him in prison, and kicked him out of the church. The very IDEA that WE weren’t the center of the universe, was unthinkable!
William Burketts Notes: And when he did please all men, it was for their profit and advantage, not his own: to promote their eternal salvation, not his own temporal interest: I please all men, that they may be saved.
Ray Scott - REMEMBER … It’s not about YOU. Your struggles and trials might be for God to display His glory through you. God might be using you to reflect His glory … as a “Son-reflector”. MAYBE … You have been selected to suffer for God’s glory. God will use whatever He chooses to reflect His glory … the universe … a beautiful sunset … YOU and your struggles.
