Last night I heard someone say,
“If what you want to do brings glory to God, then do it freely and with all your might. If what you want to do brings glory to yourself or others, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it.”
We were discussing Christian liberty and in particular those commonly held pet “sins” like drinking, smoking, and dancing.
I am not saying that any of those things are sin, but this is the context from which the original statement came.
Do you think the original statement is a good one, or is it overly simplistic?
Are we to do nothing in life for our own good pleasure?
Does this statement camouflage legalism?
Missionary in the Andes Mountains Cloud Forest Region of Ecuador. My last name, "Labrador," is the word that's used for "Vine Worker" in the Spanish Bible, and it's OK with me. 
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I think the real question (and probably debate) behind this is “What does it mean for an activity to bring glory to God?” Yeah, we tend to think of things like praying, evangelizing, singing hymns, etc. But what about mundane things like sleeping, eating or going to the bathroom? Do *all* my activities have to do that? What about things that bring pleasure or enjoyment to my life or to the lives of others? What about going to Disneyland, blowing bubbles with my daughter or making love to my wife?
I think the main differentiation here is whether or not you’re doing something selfishly or unselfishly. If I’m going to church because “I have to go” – then I’m probably not glorifying God by doing so. On the other hand, if I skip church and take my family to the beach and spend all day laughing and playing with them and enjoying the creation that God has given us – chances are I *am* glorifying Him.
I think people miss the point whenever they get focused on the action and forget all about the attitude.
Excellent way of putting it! The heart attitude should be the key to evaluating actions (and only God can see that).
Dave, thanks for your first comment on this blog.
I think you are right and have more to say about your post, but I will wait until a few others have had a chance to comment.
Immerse yourself in Christ, He is all of it, except sin, and that He bears for us too. Giving thanks and praying unceasingly for all that is Christ, and the Love of Christ will shine forth. Ps. 34:5 They looked to Him and were radiant, their faces were not ashamed. Rom. 14:23…………….And that is the weakness of the flesh, which He died in the flesh, and for the weakness of the flesh. The Glory has and always is His, and why we must “present our bodies as a living sacrifice”. Living totally for Him, 24/7, is a challenge, but He catches us when we fall, raises us up with Him. Truth, Spirit, In Christ, knowing full well we carry our own stumbling blocks. Anyone want to help me get this beam out of my eye?
Most of the times when I have felt guilt about not bringing ‘glory’ to God, it has been due to legalism implanted in my teen years. My background defined activities that fit the glory category. The idea derives from misinterpreting 1 Corinthians 10:28-33(NET):
But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience—I do not mean yours but the other person’s. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I blamed for the food that I give thanks for? So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Do not give offense to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also try to please everyone in all things. I do not seek my own benefit, but the benefit of many, so that they may be saved.
Note that in this passage eating and drinking can qualify for the glory of God. But how can people praise God because you eat a meal? God doesn’t need our glory, but if we claim to be his children, we can be misrepresenting Him to others. The only application of it I see is to not do things which offend, as it says earlier in the chapter, the ‘weaker brother.’ Of course those who haul out the ‘weaker brother’ verse are usually the ones who are quite sure they are NOT weaker brothers!
“Drinking, smoking, and dancing” were the church’s primary sins of my teen years. The mocking poem was, “I don’t smoke; and I don’t chew; and I don’t go; with girls who do.” The sad thing to me now in later years is that they missed the verses about outward rules not affecting the condition of the heart. (By the way, I wrote a blog on my investigation of “temperance” a few weeks ago). I used to wonder how not dancing prevented pregnancy, but then I was taught to fear sexual desire without understanding it or seeing it as from God. There are many good reasons not to smoke, but they have to do with health, not morality.
‘Glory’ is a strange word in our day and has acquired nuances of conceit and self-aggrandizement which were not part of the word in earlier days. You helpfully rephrased it in your question, “Are we to do nothing in life for our own good pleasure?” Right on! I love the picture of God as our Father and us as (little) children: the child does new things and the Father is proud of it. A good father does not restrict how the child plays (except for its safety) and is glad when the child takes pleasure in what it is doing. Of course we—imperfect parents that we are—don’t always interact that way, but our heavenly Father is always interested in our good. Even when a child forgets its lines in a Christmas program, the parent’s concern is not personal embarrassment but rather the state of their child. God’s position (glory) is not dependent on us, and it is probably quite different actions on our part that bring Him pleasure.
So I think the statement is reflecting a background like mine which confused the heart with the outward appearance and somehow makes God’s reputation dependent on our outward actions.
the statement,
“If what you want to do brings glory to God, then do it freely and with all your might. If what you want to do brings glory to yourself or others, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it.”
is “impossible” (the latest terminology for this sort of engineered quandary) because a person outside the wisdom & control of God’s Spirit can only guess for what may bring glory to God. But for those in Christ, all focus & intent has been transferred to what He wants (not what you/I want), making the proposed evaluation by them non sequitur.