"Man's Chief End"
While away at Camp Krislund June 20-26, I picked up a
book, Quiet Strength, by Tony Dungy, former coach of the NFL's
Indianapolis Colts, who led his team to win the Super Bowl in 2007. In his
Epilogue to the book, he makes the following statement:
"I love coaching football, and winning a Super Bowl was a goal I've had for a
long time. But it has never been my purpose
in life. My purpose in life is simply to glorify God. We have to be careful that
we don't let the pursuit of our life's goals, no
matter how important they seem, cause us to lose sight of our purpose." He went
on to say, "I want to help people see the path
to eternal life through Christ, to enjoy an abundant life now, and to fulfill
their God-given purposes here . . . we can all have an
impact - for good."
Essentially, Dungy captures the essence of the Westminster Catechism (1646 AD) -
"Man's chief end is to glorify God
and to enjoy Him forever." Or, as the Apostle Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians
10:31 -"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of
God." It is so easy for me to lose sight of God's purpose for my life, and get
sidetracked by secondary purposes - my plans and
projects, my desires and wants, my goals. As soon as I take my eyes off
glorifying and enjoying God, life takes on challenges that
are less than fulfilling, and there is no joy. Making my personal goals an "end"
in themselves, leaves me empty in the long run -
either looking for something more, when they are accomplished, or frustrated
when they're not. Dungy speaks of the "abundant
life now" that Jesus came to bring us (John 10:10b), and we, in our humanity,
prevent that from happening every time we try to
promote our own agendas.
Making God's glory our priority is humbling as we realize how loved and blessed
we are to be God's children; and humbled
before God, we are available to be used by God's Spirit to make a difference in
the lives of others. Rick Warren put it this
way: 'We were planned for God's pleasure." C. S. Lewis reminds us that we are
not instructed to glorify God because God is ego-
tistical, but because God loves us. We glorify and honor what we take delight in
- a beautiul sunset, a delicious meal, a great
book, a loving relationship with a spouse, etc.
This Summer, may we be intentional about glorifying and enjoying God.
It will help us keep our real purpose for living in perspective!
Pastor Dale E. Williams
Thanks for all you do to live for Christ!