Scripture Proofs
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Ps. 73:25, 26)
This is the second question of this catechism, but it is based on the first question of the Westminster Catechism. Personally, I think that this catechism gets it right by putting man as the second question and God as the first. However, I think both of them get right the fact that man's very purpose and reason for existing is for the glory of God.
Like the first question and answer, the answer given is well-supported by Scripture. Paul says that "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31, emphasis added). It doesn't say "do some things" or even "most things," but quite literally, that absolutely everything we do should be for God's glory. Paul says the same thing in Colossians 3:17: "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Paul wants "whoever speaks [to speak] as one who speaks oracles of God" and "whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." Everything we do, we must do for God's glory. This reminds me of another passage of Scripture:
Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. (Eph. 6:5-8)
In other words, when we do work, we are working for God himself. That makes sense; anyone in a position of authority ultimately had that authority delegated to him by God (Rom. 13:1), which means that our bosses are put over us by God. So when we do our work well, we are glorifying God through it!
But what about enjoying God? I wonder if we often think of that? I know that people outside of the faith don't; they tend to see God as a cosmic killjoy who only wants to squash everyone's fun. But that's not Biblical at all; in fact, God wants us to take part in a greater joy than any earthly, temporal pursuit can give us: his joy, the joy of being his. Look at the language the Psalmist uses in the verse above: "There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you . . . God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." This is a deep longing that nothing on earth can satisfy, and a satisfaction that nothing on earth can bring. Other Psalms portray the desire for God as a deep thirst for water in a dry place (Ps 42:2; 63:1; 143:6).
How does this work itself out? It's one thing to talk about enjoying God, but how do we actually do it? Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
What Paul is saying is that all the sadness and grief we face on earth should not ultimately kill our joy. It's all temporal. In contrast, God has given us an "eternal comfort and good hope through grace" in salvation and sanctification (2 Thess. 2:16). Someday, we will behold the God who is beautiful beyond all comparison, and "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev 21:4).
This doesn't mean we should just traipse through life as if it means nothing; this should affect how we live now. The writer of Hebrews speaks of Moses, who chose "rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward" (Heb. 11:25, 26). Moses, looking forward to the reward of Heaven, made a conscious choice not to take part in sin and chose rather to be mistreated for his faith. We should do the same, but we need to remember that this is not because we are trying to earn our salvation; our enjoyment of God is a response to his already having saved us. Paul said, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:2, 3). Our lives are already hidden in Christ, and because of this we must set our minds on things that are above.
What more could we possibly ask for? What on earth is worth our enjoyment more than a perfect, loving, holy God who has granted us a perfect and merciful salvation despite our sin? God wants us to rejoice in him and glorify him! This is the reason we exist!
To read the full catechism, click here.
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