NOT to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
Glory. That’s a word we don’t use much. We talk about things that are glorious, but for the most part, we don’t describe things in our realm as having glory, and we don’t give glory to things earthly. According to the psalmist, that’s a good thing because glory belongs to God, not humanity. According to Oxford, glory is high regard or honor won by notable achievements.
On further thought, it seems like we do seek glory, although we don’t talk about it so much. Glory is something we seek, although few would admit it; it sounds so vain. So instead we seek glory in secret, or at least without admitting publicly we’re seeking it.
The psalmist suggests that glory belongs to God. Given the fact that our skills, talents and notable achievements are God-given, it seems fair that God deserves the glory, not us. If we do something notable, it’s just because 1) God gave us the ability and opportunity to and 2) we lived in to what God wanted for us all along. So yes, I guess glory belongs to God, not us.
So what about all those times I secretly want glory for something I’ve done well? Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th century abbot writes that we should seek peace and not glory. If we seek peace, we may achieve notable things, but our motivation should be harmony and peace, rather than personal accolades. If I think about others who seek glory, it’s obvious that’s their primary motive, right? If I can spot that less-than-altruistic motive in others, I must assume that people can spot it in me, when it creeps in to my motivation. I never want to be that person.
This morning, I’m thinking about how to check my intentions when I do something, to see if I’m doing it for peace or some more self-serving purpose. And I want to be more intentional about turning any glory towards God. Let’s keep it real.
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