I’m sure you are wondering about 168? Can you guess? Well, it’s simple. There are 168 hours in a week. Every one of us have 168 hours in each week. The question is, “What are with doing with those 168 hours?” I’ll tell you what we are doing. We do basically whatever we want to do. If you want to go to the beach, you go to the beach. If you want to eat at Bojangles, you eat at Bojangles. If you want to go fishing off the pier, than you fish. The Apostle Paul tells us to, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). The word circumspectly means carefully. We should walk carefully as those who are wise. We should walk (live) carefully, value the time God has given us, and live it to His glory.
So often we realize too late in life that our lives are an extraordinary gift given to us so that we might bring glory to God. We’re so busy with raising children, paying rent, catching up on hospital bills, solving problems, and cutting grass, that we miss our most important purpose in life. We fail to bring glory to God in everything we do. We become so busy and distracted by our “can’t miss” calendar events that we fail to accomplish our “must do” purpose in life. Am I hitting a nerve? Did I just describe your life? Are you one of the distracted?
We push God into a hidden corner of our lives like a toddler in time out. But, when the next crisis occurs we beg and plead for God to arrive at just the right time before our discomfort and distress turns to despair. At that point, we pull Him out of the corner, engage with Him with the expectation that He will provide all we need, and praise Him like never before. If you think this seems very selfish, you might be right. We only praise God when He is useful to us. We only praise God when He surprises us with great things. We only praise God when He heals us from a difficult disease. We only praise God when He rescues us from danger and certain death. But, what if He doesn’t? Will we still praise God and bring Him glory so we can point others to Him? This should cause us to examine our hearts and motives.
Since we were created to bring glory to God, we should seek to point others to Him through our attitudes and actions. That is our purpose. Your occupation is not your service, but a vehicle to bring glory to God. Being a parent is not just a training camp for your kids so that they will grow up knowing right from wrong, but it is a vehicle to bring glory to God. Your marriage is not just an opportunity to have a lifelong mate, but it is a vehicle to bring glory to God. Paul said, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). It’s pretty clear that Paul sees great value in bringing glory to God. So what now?
Create the change: Make a conscious effort to honor God in all that you do. This only occurs because you intentionally make it happen. Change is usually not something that is a result of an unintended consequence. Intentionality is critical.
Cement the change: Constantly make honoring God a part of your daily DNA. The more you practice it, the more likely it becomes who you are. Those who cement the change are more likely to truly experience change.
Critique the change: Check yourself. How are you doing? Are you bringing glory to God, or are you bringing glory to yourself? How can you improve?
It’s time to put action to your faith and live the life God intended for you to live. When you realize your life is really God’s, it makes a real difference in the way you live. You no longer live for you, but for Him.