What is most important to God? That’s an important question, isn’t it? Think about it. Since God is our Creator—The Intelligent Designer who has an intelligent design for our lives—and since He is our Lord and Master and since He is our Judge to whom we are ultimately accountable for how we live our lives, we need to know what is most important to Him. Then, everything else falls into place. We simply need to make sure that what is most important to God is most important to us. Practical Theology 101.
So, what is most important to God? The answer may surprise you. His own glory is what is most important to God!
Read the first three of the 10 Commandments, Exodus 20:1-7:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”
Do you see it? No other gods—these commands are given to direct us to Him, to focus on Him and give God—and God alone—glory. God will not share His glory with anyone or anything else.
Notice also, He is a “jealous God”! That’s hard for us to get because we think of jealousy as a bad thing. But think of it this way: If a man catches his wife in an affair with another man, is he wrong to be jealous? Absolutely not! His is a righteous jealousy—she vowed to love and know no other man but her husband. He not only should be jealous, but he must be jealous. A million times more, God is righteously jealous for His glory.
The third command is not to take the Lord’s name in vain. To treat it as common or to use it as a vulgarity. This, too, is about His glory. His name is wrapped up in who He is and when we misuse His name, we dishonor Him. Read what God said in Isaiah 48:9-11:
“For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off. “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.”
Go to the New Testament. The Transfiguration. In Matthew 17, Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain and there was “transfigured”. In other words, Jesus let the three disciples see Him in His glory. Moses and Elijah appeared as well—the greatest law-giver and the greatest prophet. Peter was so overwhelmed that he blurted out that he would build three tabernacles as a way of honoring these three great men. But God, the Father, spoke from heaven and rebuked Peter. Read to verses 4 and 5:
“Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!’”
Peter was putting Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. But God quickly corrected him and let him know that Jesus would not share His glory—even with great men like Moses and Elijah. This is God’s Son—God Himself—no ordinary man. He is the God-Man and He will not share His glory.
Acts 12:21-23 is an amazing illustration of God’s unwillingness to share His glory:
“On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
Perhaps you’re thinking all this make’s God seem arrogant and proud. Not at all! God is the only one worthy of glory. He is the only one worthy of worship. He’s the only one worthy to be praised. He would only be an egomanic or arrogant or proud if it wasn’t true! But it is true!
God is infinitely valuable and important.
Revelation 4:8 tells us the four living creatures “…day and night do not cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” Later, the 24 elders fall down before God and cry out, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power…” (v.11).
God is completely unique.
Over and over, the Scriptures tell us there is no one like God. After Moses and the Israelites watched God drown the entire Egyptian army, they sang in Exodus 15:11, “…Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?” Expected answer? No one! There’s no one as majestic and awesome as you! Guess what? God agrees! He later said—in Isaiah 40:25—“‘To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?’ says the Holy One.” Again, expected answer? No one!
God is the sustainer of all things.
Colossians 1:17 tells us: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Does not the One who holds all things together deserve glory?
We must understand that God is so wonderful; God is so good and great and enjoyable and loveable and awesome that it is an enormous privilege to have been created by Him and know Him and serve Him and give Him glory. Our salvation and our hope of eternal life depend on the fact that He is as wonderful as His Word tells us—wonderful enough to deserve glory.
So when we glorify God there is benefit for us. This is how He’s wired the universe—He’s the center. He’s the point. He’s the ultimate Source of joy and peace and contentment and joy and blessing. Remember the second commandment in Exodus 20?
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
When we begin to steal His glory and give His glory to someone or something else, we not only spit on His name, but we turn everything backwards. We are His creation. We don’t deserve glory. He does. Everything or anything else we might decide to glorify is also His creation and unworthy of glory. Nothing else and no one else deserves His glory. To glorify anything or anyone else is foolish and this foolishness will result in trouble, pain, judgment and a pointless, vain existence. Our lives will be empty and meaningless. Like chasing after the wind.
Let this sink deep down into your heart. Never forget that what is most important to God is His own glory.
