Another week, another Scripture Memory Song. This week we’re hopping into the first of Paul’s letters to the church in Corinth: 1 Corinthians 10:31.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
Devotional
Once again we need to get some context on this verse in order to get the full understanding.
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God,33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
1 Corinthians 10:23-33
1 Corinthians 10:31 is one of those verses that I’ve seen abused quite a bit. I remember a Bible study in college where, after reading this verse, they said that it meant they could do whatever they wanted as long as they did it to the glory of God. Some of the examples they gave were watching television and playing video games. Judging by the shows they watched and the games they played, I wasn’t really sure how they could glorify God with them.
You certainly can glorify God while watching TV, but the show itself needs to be God-glorifying, or you need to be using that time as an opportunity to tell someone else how the show is actually glorifying sin rather than God. Same with video games: I don’t think God is glorified by a game where the goal is to kill your friends more times than they can kill you.
There are a lot of things we can do that are not sin, but that doesn’t mean we should do them (All things are lawful/permissible, but not everything builds up or is helpful). We need to ask whether we can glorify God in what we do before we do it.
Also, the reason this verse mentions eating and drinking is not really to say “no matter what you’re doing, even the mundane everyday things,” but instead is to make reference to the previous passages that were talking about food sacrificed to idols, so you really need to look into those. I still believe that the mundane everyday things we do should be done to God’s glory, though. If it’s truly something utterly mundane that you can’t possibly see glorifying anyone or anything, then sing scripture or worship songs while you do it! In any case, if you think about it, the mundane things like chores can ultimately be seen as service to others (unless you live alone and never have guests over). So if you view your work as a way to bless those in your family and guests who come to visit, and you do them with joy in your heart that you are able to serve others in the mundane things in life, you are glorifying God.
Which brings us to the final point. Look at the last couple verses. You really want to glorify God? Please others. This is very counter-cultural. We’ve all been raised, whether intentionally or not, to believe that our first priority is ourselves. That’s the opposite of what God teaches just about everywhere in the Bible. Showing God’s love to others is the most effective way you can glorify God. Take note, though, that “pleasing” others is about giving them everything they want. It’s about giving them what they need and showing God’s love to them.
We all fail at these things. It’s hard to consistently turn our minds to God for everything we do and consider his will, but we really ought to try, and hopefully having a Scripture Memory Song for this verse should help pop it into your head once in a while. Now, let’s all go out and glorify God in all we do this week!
Looking for some books that glorify God? The Books of the Infinite series is a wonderful fiction fantasy trilogy that is a great demonstration of obeying the “Infinite” (that universe’s name for God) in faith. Otherwise, if you’re looking for non-fiction that can truly encourage or convict, The Insanity of God and its sequel, The Insanity of Obedience are books we’ve read or are reading that have truly worked in our hearts.
As for movies, there are numerous available on Netflix that glorify God, and there are also plenty of documentaries that show the science proves the stories of the Bible. The Star of Bethlehem shows us what the star announcing Jesus’ birth was and how it connects to the stories given to us in the gospels, along with some other amazing celestial signs from God mentioned in the Bible. Kent Hovind also has a great series about Creation science. Ken Ham has one too, for free on his site.