"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (I Cor. 10:31)
There are those Christians who have managed to departmentalize their lives under two headings: spiritual and secular. God, however, does not mean for us to live our Christian lives with two different identities. There should be a wholeness about our lives, with Jesus Christ at the center. I think He chose the example of eating and drinking to show us that the most basic, mundane activities of life can be done with such Christian grace that He can receive glory from it.
There are probably two reasons why we hesitate to call some of our activities spiritual. First, they may actually fall under the category of sin, as revealed in the Word of God, or a personal restriction, as revealed to us by the Spirit of God. In that case, no amount of praying over it, or adding God's name to it, will give it spiritual legitimacy. But, on the other hand, it is possible to be erroneously conditioned to think that unless something is done in the church, involving other Christians, using Biblical terminology (or lyrics), or presenting immediate opportunity to share your testimony, it cannot be done to the glory of God.
The truth is, anything a Christian does, short of sin, can (and should) be done for God's glory. I read of an obscure, yet profound, monument that stands in a little English village cemetery. Its inscription says exactly what I’m trying to say:
There are those Christians who have managed to departmentalize their lives under two headings: spiritual and secular. God, however, does not mean for us to live our Christian lives with two different identities. There should be a wholeness about our lives, with Jesus Christ at the center. I think He chose the example of eating and drinking to show us that the most basic, mundane activities of life can be done with such Christian grace that He can receive glory from it.
There are probably two reasons why we hesitate to call some of our activities spiritual. First, they may actually fall under the category of sin, as revealed in the Word of God, or a personal restriction, as revealed to us by the Spirit of God. In that case, no amount of praying over it, or adding God's name to it, will give it spiritual legitimacy. But, on the other hand, it is possible to be erroneously conditioned to think that unless something is done in the church, involving other Christians, using Biblical terminology (or lyrics), or presenting immediate opportunity to share your testimony, it cannot be done to the glory of God.
The truth is, anything a Christian does, short of sin, can (and should) be done for God's glory. I read of an obscure, yet profound, monument that stands in a little English village cemetery. Its inscription says exactly what I’m trying to say:
TO THOMAS COBB
who mended shoes in this village for forty years
to the Glory of God
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