Don't seek your own glory

Wait for God to glorify you

Most Christians get impatient whenever they think of receiving glory for themselves. Doesn’t matter how much one trusts God, good things just never seem to come soon enough or in sufficient quantity or quality to satisfy our pride. We won’t have these frustrations in heaven, but we endure them now.

Naturally, most people (include Christians) turn to the easiest alternative – self-promotion. “I’m really good at self-promotion. In fact, I’m among the best among my family and friends. Most people think I’m the greatest in the world…” blah, blah, blah. Actually, I run away from self-promotion because I cannot control it without sounding proud and arrogant.

This verse from Proverbs teaches us something about bragging and showing off by comparing these actions/attitudes to eating honey:

It is not good to eat much honey,
Nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory. (Proverbs 25:27, NASB)

Do you get the idea here? Nothing wrong with having a little honey on one’s toast. Tastes great and brightens the eyes (1 Samuel 14:27).

But what happens when one eats too much honey? One develops a headache and sore tummy. For a while, the honey makes one feel better, but then it makes one feel worse.

That’s the idea with “searching out one’s own glory.” It feels good for a while, but eventually it doesn’t feel good anymore. It might work with other people, too, for a while. Eventually, the thing that causes people to think more highly of us begins to turn them off. Rather than try to find some sort of balance, the proverb rejects self-promotion from the start.

So, what’s the alternative for the Christian? Depend on God to glorify His child just like Jesus relied on the Father:

Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’” (John 8:54, NASB)

The Jews throughout the Gospel of John tried desperately to discredit Jesus’ ministry. They couldn’t argue with His teachings or miracles, so they accused Him of self-aggrandizement – a completely false accusation without any basis in fact or behavior. It gives Jesus a chance to explain how He fulfills the Father’s will with everything He does and speaks.

You might feel inclined to dismiss any examples of Jesus as irrelevant since He depends on the special union of the Trinity to share glory with the Father. Based on our last lesson, you would be correct to make this connection about God’s glory. But don’t miss the hidden point while making the obvious one.

While Jesus remains as an equal member of the Trinity, He depends on the Father to glorify Him. If it doesn’t appear unseemly for God to glorify Himself (as we saw in the last unit of devotionals), why wait for the Father? Why not make bread when hungry (Luke 4:3-5)? He submits Himself to the Father as our example to submit ourselves to the Father. Jesus doesn’t resist the direction of His life as planned by the Father. He asks for another plan but submits to the Father’s will. He waits for the Father’s plan to finish.

We can learn by following this example of Jesus. Instead of assuming the roles and authority destined for Him, Jesus relies on the Father to glorify Him:

So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You” (Hebrews 5:5, NASB)

Jesus could trust that the Father would complete this because the Father glorifying the Son was always part of the plan. Therefore, we can depend on the Father to glorify us according to His plan for us.

Despite Jesus’ unique place in the kingdom, the careful Bible student needs to consider all factors when studying the Bible. Jesus came to earth and lived publicly as our example. We can do many of the same things He does (love, serve, teach) except pay for the sins of mankind with our death and rise from the dead by our own power. According to His word, we can do greater things than Him (John 14:12). We are to mimic His behavior and expect the Father’s care for our needs just as He cared for Jesus and His needs. To think otherwise, would be to ignore all of Jesus’ teaching. So, it’s within the realm of reason that God might glorify us if we mimic Jesus in the ways the Father desires of us.

So what can we learn from Jesus? What should we do to cooperate with God’s plan for glory? Let’s examine some of His teachings concerning the subject of glory and glorification:

But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. (John 8:50, NASB)

Jesus doesn’t pursue His own glory. God decides who receives glory and who receives judgment. Jesus relies on the Father to build His reputation and bring followers to Him.

I see four examples from Jesus as He waits to receive glory from the Father and what He does afterwards. When Jesus teaches, He reminds people that His wisdom comes from the Scriptures:

He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
(John 7:18, NASB)

Jesus compares two men: one who speaks of his own thoughts vs. one who seeks God’s glory.

The one who “speaks from himself” obviously seeks his own glory. This person promotes their personal opinions hoping to earn glory for themselves. You cannot trust this type of person because they are unrighteous. We also see that this person eventually begins lying as they become more desperate.

On the other hand, Jesus seeks glory from the “One who sent Him” (i.e. the Father). Thus, Jesus only speaks what God tells Him (John 8:26). Jesus often credits the Scriptures with the wisdom He possesses. He quotes “Moses and the prophets” to remind the Jews that everything He says can be found in the Old Testament.

In our case, we should speak only what we find in the Old and New Testaments. In that way, we mimic the teachings and wisdom of Jesus rather than portray ourselves as greater than Him.

In the same way, when Jesus heals someone, He credits the Father or the Holy Spirit with the power and goodness of the action. He sometimes points to the faith of the one healed as the means by which He acts. Jesus always avoids situations that would glorify Himself at the expense of the Father.

Too many Christians seek spiritual gifts to gain power and claim prestige. But these things work at the command of the Holy Spirit, not us. They are given to build up the Church, not the possessors of the gift.

Mimic Jesus’ deeds in ways that bring glory to the Father, not self. God doesn’t ask us to annually hang ourselves on a cross any more than He demands that we sleep in a cave with a rock against the entrance for 72 hours. These actions may demonstrate our piety but bring no glory to the Father. Jesus had a task to accomplish – a cup to drink – that no one else could accomplish. Don’t dramatize the crucifixion into a circus.

Instead of public acts of drama, we should love our enemies, forgive others and lend freely. We should practice mercy and justice while not neglecting the other points of Mosaic Law. We should testify to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as we witness to the transformation this “good news” has made in our hearts.

Thus Christians don’t perform in order to win the approval of people. Jesus rejects crowd winning antics:

I do not receive glory from men (John 5:41, NASB)

Quit trying to adopt the culture of the world and integrate it into the practices of the Church. We don’t need their music or their ideas of worship to please the Father. The kingdom of God has its own culture which transcends the culture of the world. We should influence them, not the other way around. The goal of our teaching is to produce mature people in the image of Jesus Christ. How does dumbing down our meetings to the level of worldly entertainment result in maturity?

Consider the purpose of worship in a Christian church. The Holy Spirit should guide our worship. Is godly worship intended as an evangelistic tool to bring the unsaved into our corridors? Or is it our expression of praise and thanks to God for His character and His deeds on our behalf? This discussion transcends music style and time constraints. Is our worship just a performance for an audience or an expression of a spiritual reality? The unsaved cannot perceive the glory of God without our example because sin keeps them blind and deaf. So, we speak and sing of things which the world doesn’t consider on its own to remind the unsaved of a greater reality than jobs, social media, and entertainment. Christianity claims a power to transform the human heart from a sinner to a saint. Saints are not stuffy blowhards, but joyful people with self-discipline who live in a chaotic world with peace that transcends worldly understanding.

Jesus avoids the trap of echoing praise with others. Consider the implications of this verse:

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? (John 5:44, NASB)

When we pursue the admiration of others, we neglect the Lord’s approval. As we can see in the exchanges between Jesus and his critics, their focus on each other became fatal to their relationship with God. They couldn’t teach His word, because they couldn’t understand it. They had no power or authority in their teaching. They became selfish and greedy. They oppressed others rather than serve one another. Jesus had to undo all these faults with the religious leaders of His day among the Jews.

Learn to wait for God rather than make things happen in your timing. Jesus worked in cooperation with Him to justify (not earn) glory from the Father. Walk in the same way, so that God eagerly seeks to glorify you. How? Like Jesus, reflect whatever glory God gives you back to the Lord.