“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.” (Ps 50:23 AV)
I profound thought occurred to me as I read this verse. I wonder how many of us think of glorifying the LORD in the context of eternity rather than in the present tense. I don’t mean that we do not attempt to glorify God with our lives. Rather, we think that to truly glorify God requires a completely different context. Let me expound a bit. When we think of praise and glorification our minds go to a production offered every time we meet to worship. Nowadays, most churches have a worship team. Which is too bad. In the generations past, there was congregational singing and a choir. Now that was worship and glorification. We have gotten used to the idea that glorifying God is something we do in the safety of numbers and it has to be a large production to truly glorify God. This is not what David believed. In our passage, there are two means of glorification. Publicly acknowledging God for all that He is and has done for you and the way we live. The way we live is our conversation. It is the first that I wish to dwell upon.
It always amazes me how much salesmen appear to truly believe in their product. I watch a lot of reviews of a particular item that is widely used today. There are shows throughout the country that exhibit these products and product lines. Just last night I watched two of them. Newer innovations around older technologies are interesting. Just when you think the mousetrap cannot be improved, someone thinks up a better way of doing it. Variations of this technology are many. A tiny little tweak here and there and whoever comes up with it has the best seller. There are salesmen representing every manufacturer involved in this product line. These salesmen are decked out in attire advertising the manufacturer. From shirts to hats to full-body advertisements, they are all about their parent company and the product they make. The newest innovation is compared to the invention of fire. Something so spectacular that it will forever change the industry. In reality, it is just a minor tweak that a subset of clients will find attractive. What strikes me is the enthusiasm and focus these people have regarding their products. They are not ashamed to speak of their offering as far superior to every other even if it is not. They are completely and fully committed. No matter the venue, they are all about their product.
David is helping us here. He is trying to tell us that God should be part of our normal conversation. To offer praise doesn’t require a soapbox or platform. Praising God does not require us to invest in audio equipment and to stand on the street corner. Praising God doesn’t mean we have to purposely speak over others so our voice is heard. Praising God does not require a team to back us up. All it requires is for us to take every opportunity we can to acknowledge God and how good He is to us. We don’t have to preach a sermon. We don’t have to give three points and a prayer. We don’t have to hand a tract out every time. All God asks is that when the opportunity arises in normal conversation, we mention Him to those with whom we are conversing as though He is a normal and important part of our lives. Like talking about our spouse and kids, who and what the LORD is to us should be so natural that no one feels uncomfortable with our words. Even the lost. We speak of Him as a matter of fact and not a supernatural and rare occurrence. It is the least we could do.
P.S. Today is the last day for our contest. My wife and Ms Theresa are still tied. If there is no winner, then the writer will get to keep the gift card ;-) If you want to help either of these ladies, click the 'follow' button to the right and leave a comment mentioning their name. If you are reading from a mobile browser, scroll to the bottom, click on 'view web version' and then do the same. P.S.S. I could always use $20 for Bass Pro. But they could use it more than me. So sign up!
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