Posts Tagged: pleasing God
“Pleasing God: When Praise is a Sacrifice”
“15 Through him [i.e., Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Hebrews 13:15-16, English Standard Version)
Biblically speaking, pleasing God is not difficult to understand. It’s just hard to do consistently. It involves sacrifice, and I am very possessive. My philosophy of life, far too often, may be summarized as follows: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours.” Sometimes, I’m afraid that it is even worse than that. Sometimes, my philosophy is: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is also mine.” Taking a more generous approach to life is a sacrifice.
The verses that lead off this post speak of a couple of ways to please God. One is to offer the sacrifice of praise. The other sacrifice is doing good to everyone. Tomorrow, I will be dealing with doing good to everyone. Today, I am focusing on the sacrifice of praise.
What does it mean to praise? It means, among other things, to “. . . acknowledge his [i.e., God’s] name”? The name in the ancient world often stood for someone’s character. This is certainly true in the Old Testament. And remember that the author of Hebrews was soaked in the Old Testament. Old Testament quotes and echoes abound in the book of Hebrews. When I recognize and acknowledge God’s name— who God is—praise becomes a natural result.
Well, maybe it is not always natural. There are times when praise flows freely. There are times when we can’t help but praise God.
But the author of Hebrews speaks of praise as a sacrifice. Let’s speak the truth here. There are indeed times when praising God does not flow so naturally. There are aspects of God’s character that I don’t always like. God seems to be a God who meddles in my life. God wants my priorities to be healthy. God and I do not always agree at this point.
So, I have to be willing to sacrifice my own priorities in order to praise God for who God is. And I don’t like that.
Furthermore, to praise God means that I have to sacrifice my feeling that I deserve good things, that I am somehow a self-made person. I frequently resent making that admission. To acknowledge my need of God and God’s goodness goes against the grain. I want my own goodness, thank you very much! Whether such a thing even exists in isolation from God is another matter entirely . . . or perhaps it is not another matter. Perhaps that is the matter and also what is the matter with me.
The Greek verb for offering this sacrifice is in the present tense. The present tense in New Testament Greek usually suggests something that is ongoing or continuous. As if that weren’t enough, the author of Hebrews makes it very clear by a little phrase which literally means “though all”. Does this mean “through all things” or “through all times”? Yes!
So today, I am going to sacrifice my praise to God. I don’t always like my lot in life. I don’t always like myself and the way I am living. But God is still God, and God is still worthy of my praise.
“Want to Please God? Ask for Wisdom!”
According to 1 Kings 3:10 (in context), Solomon asked God for wisdom to rule the people of Israel well. This Bible verse indicates that God was pleased with Solomon’s request.
Yes, it is true that, late in his life, Solomon made some very foolish choices that most definitely did not please God. You can read about those choices and their consequences in 1 Kings 11. The Bible does not sugarcoat the truth about the human tendency to mess up. This is true even of “the good guys.” In fact, the brutal portrayal of even the good guys makes you wonder if there are any truly good guys. This honesty is one of the reasons I hold the Bible in high regard.
But back to pleasing God by asking for wisdom!
In the New Testament, James also speaks of asking for wisdom. Whether or not he had King Solomon’s request in mind is doubtful. However, James has some wise words about wisdom.
“James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-7, English Standard Version)
Verse 5 is a promise for any and all of us. When it comes right down to it, we all need wisdom, don’t we? Sure, some of us are smart and some of us are clever. Probably not as smart or clever as we think, of course. However, that is another story and shall be told at another time.
But then there’s wisdom, and that strikes me as a different matter altogether. Some of the wisest people I’ve ever known weren’t all that smart. Some smart (or even brilliant) people I’ve ever known have been really unwise—a.k.a. foolish.
So, according to James, wisdom is ours for the asking. But you have to ask the right Person, at the right time, and with the right attitude.
1. The right Person: God. Would it surprise you to find out that the creator, sustainer, and lover of the universe is a wonderful source of wisdom? Perhaps we should be more surprised if it were not so. And yet, frankly, I often search for wisdom everywhere else. Now don’t get me wrong. God frequently pours his wisdom into and through nature and people. It is very foolish to ignore the wise counsel of others or of the universe. However, it is usually best to go directly to the ultimate source of wisdom. And that is God.
2. The right time: Continually. This doesn’t necessarily come out in the English translations, but the asking for wisdom and the fact that we have a wisdom-giving God is expressed in the present tense in the original Greek text. The present tense in Greek usually has the nuance of continual or repetitive action. We need to be continually asking God for the wisdom that God is continually giving. So, we’re talking here not about a one-time-fits-all gift. Rather, we are talking about wisdom for the living of this day, this moment. So, today, why not ask God for wisdom at least ten times? Excuse me for a moment while I practice what I write.
. . .
There, that’s two times for me!
3. The right attitude: With Faith. Do I really believe that God wants me to ask for, to have, and to make use of wisdom? And why wouldn’t I believe that. If there is a God at all, God probably does what he pleases. And if it gives God pleasure to give any and all wisdom (not just Solomon), who am I to deny the God of the universe a little pleasure?
“AFFIRMING THE PLEASURE OF GOD”
Years ago, my twelve-step sponsor encouraged me to do daily affirmations. It is a good discipline. I usually do my affirmation early in the morning. It helps to set the tone for my day. Today’s affirmation is as follows: Today, by God’s grace and with God’s help, I will seek to make it a good day for God. I will do this by trusting Him, by obeying Him, by enjoying Him, by praising Him, and by being kind to everything and everyone He has made.
One of the many ways that I sometimes go wrong is that I want God to make it a good day for Me. Some of my worst days have been the result of that attitude.
Putting anyone first means that you want to make that person happy, as much as lies within you. Of course, no one can really make another person happy unless the other really desires happiness. Some people enjoy misery, and enjoy making others miserable as well.
But God is a God who is easily pleased. Jesus said that even a cup of cold water given in his name did not go unnoticed (Matthew 10:42). Now that is a God who notices and is pleased by very small acts of kindness!
The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a church in which the (dis??)members were not getting along particularly well, the church at Corinth. Actually, “not getting along particularly well” is a huge understatement. The church was a massive mess! One of their many problems was that they were focused on which of the apostles they liked the best, instead of focusing on what God had done for them and what God wanted to do in and through them.
Among other things, Paul wrote the following: “So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time– before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due” (1 Corinthians 4:5, New Living Translation).
God exposing our darkest secrets and private motives sounds pretty scary, at least to me. But Paul ends on the note of God praising us.
What?! God praising us! That can’t be right!
Yes, that is exactly what Paul said. And the God who praises us is most certainly a God who is infinitely capable of being pleased with our little attempts to please Him.
I don’t really know if I will please God today or not. But I am comforted by a prayer of Thomas Merton. I end with it. (I have bolded three sentences that especially speak to this matter of pleasing God.)
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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