It Is Due Him

“Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.” (Ps 96:8 AV)

Names have meaning.  In this verse, the name of God is the reputation of God.  The word for glory means to bring weighty honor.  Honor in abundance.  Not mere passing honor, but honor that is heaped and stacked.  Honor without measure.  Honor that cannot be contained.  There is no limit to the honor owed to the God of all creation.  When the phrase ‘…due unto His name…’ is added, we get the picture this honor is overwhelmingly large.  His name is His reputation.  This honor is due because of what God is, apart from what He has done.  Even if God hasn’t done a thing but created all, we still owe Him glory and honor.  Even if the deists are right, God still deserves all praise.  Even if we are an enemy of God and plan on rebelling all the way to a devil’s hell, He still deserves all the honor we can muster.  Why?  Because God is God and we are not.  Because He has a reputation of grace and benevolence.  Because He has the reputation of love beyond comprehension.  Because God is who and what He says He is, He deserves all the honor we can produce with lips and life.

In a generation of consumers, branding is everything.  Producing a product of great quality used to be sufficient.  It is not so much the case anymore.  Beyond quality and accessibility, a brand name and reputation are what sell a product.  After a while, consumer loyalty takes over where branding started.  In our little community of Milwaukee, two major coffee houses are vying for customer loyalty.  There is the national brand of Starbucks.  Then there is a local roaster called Colectivo.  Colectivo had about six brick-and-mortar stores and two of them have roasting stations.  The customers can watch the master roasters at work.  It is really cool.  These two coffee houses strive to build a brand.  Colectivo may not have the presence of Starbucks, but they are very popular.  They do not advertise outside of their own store advertisements and promotions.  Yet, they built a brand that is synonymous with the city of Milwaukee.  They go hand in hand.  It’s all about the brand.  The name itself sells the product.  The more we are pleased with the brand, the more we brag about it to others.  One doesn’t have to sell the qualities of the product once the brand is established.

We can brag about our favorite coffee.  We can brag about our favorite sports team.  We can brag about our favorite line of fashion.  We brag on a lot.  And not without reason.  We have learned over time those things we brag about have never failed to meet our needs or desires.  When it comes to the LORD, there is no need for Him to brand Himself.  He is the Creator.  No need to sell Himself.  The point is if we are willing to brag on brand names of things that have earned our loyalty, why are we not even more faithful to brag on a God who never needs to prove Himself.  His reputation deserves our praise.  He never fails.  God is always merciful, gracious, and longsuffering.  He has created us to know us and He does so merely by His grace.  The command above is not unreasonable or arrogant.  If we are willing to give praise for material things, it stands to reason we should give glory to God.  Even more so!  No creator or creation should ever receive more glory than God does.  We can favor our favorite brands.  We can recommend our favorite brands.  When it comes to honor, God deserves it all!