"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:11-12, NIV)
I've had moments where I've thought to myself, "What's with all this praising? Why does God command us to praise and worship Him all the time? Isn't He kind of an egomaniac?" But at the same time, I've had moments of sublime, profound joy during worship and at times of praising God. I knew it was the right thing to do. I felt sure that the questions I had were the whisperings of the enemy, because they sounded just like doubts planted by one who would try to place himself above the Almighty. I knew what the right answer was, I just hadn't worked out why.
Well, I've finally worked it out, at least to my own satisfaction, with the help of a book and the Holy Spirit, so I'm sharing in this blog entry. Praise the Lord!
The rules that apply to people don't apply to God, because God is God and we're not. I know, sounds ridiculous, right? But take a minute and really absorb that sentence if you haven't, and a lot of other significant truths will start to flow out that will be profound.
Pride is a sin for people, and one of the reasons is that whatever we're being proud about is a lie. Pride is thinking highly of yourself when it's not warranted. "I don't need help, I can do this all on my own," or, "I'm smarter than anyone I know," or, "I'm the most good-looking person in the room." None of those things is true.
However, God really is perfect. He doesn't have to be humble about anything, because to be humble would be not only untrue (which is impossible for God), but it would be idolatry. Nothing is better or more powerful or more truthful or more loving, or...(you get the idea) than God. He's not boasting, He's just being God.
So what do we like to do when we find something great, even when it's an imperfect great thing? In the words of C.S. Lewis, "[W]e delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation." (C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms). Think about something as minor as a delicious piece of cheesecake, for example. "Oh, this is so good! I've never had anything this great! You have to try it! Here, have a bite."
Unfortunately, you might be reading this and thinking you don't like cheesecake. Or cheesecake might be pretty good but not the best thing you can think of. That's because no matter what we praise that's been made by people, it's not going to be perfect. That's why praising God is so much better. Nobody can disagree about Him. He really is the best. Perfect, in fact. All the time.
Here's the point: God made us. He could have wired us any way He wanted. He hard-wired us to derive pleasure from praising the things we love, and to derive perfect pleasure from praising Him who is perfect. We were created "for the praise of His glory," and just to make it all even better, He set it up so we would be soul-satisfied by praising His glory, because He loves us.
It's perfect. Don't you agree?
In His service,
Stephanie
