We demand to be in the center of our world. We take credit for what only God could produce. We want to be sovereign. We want others to worship us. We establish our own kingdom and punish those who break our laws. We tell ourselves that we’re entitled to what we don’t deserve, and we complain when we don’t get whatever it is that we want. It’s a glory disaster.
How have you attempted to steal glory from God this week?
5. We inaccurately point the finger of blame and prolong our glory dysfunction.
It’s tempting to blame the glory war that rages within us on outside elements and culprits: If only our culture wasn’t so perverse; if only the media didn’t promote sinful priorities; if only our government was more committed to morality. Sure, outside factors are strong and influential, but the glory war that rages within our hearts is first what attracts us to those outside elements.
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Within the heart of every sinner is a deep and abiding glory dysfunction. Living for the glory of self is more natural to us than acknowledging and living for the glory of God. In our self-deception, we tell ourselves that we really can satisfy our hunger by drinking from dry wells. If we want to solve our glory dysfunction, we have to get to the heart of the dysfunction—which is, in fact, our heart.
Who have you blamed for your dysfunction, and how has that delayed the cure?
6. God’s grace alone has the power to cure our glory dysfunction.
The reality is that we can’t actually solve our own glory dysfunction. Many have tried; none have succeeded on their own. Our only hope is for the God of glory to invade our lives and rescue us. But not rescue us from culture or media or government—no, he needs to rescue us from us.
This is why Jesus came to earth, lived righteously on our behalf, died for our dysfunction, then rose again conquering sin and death. In amazing grace, Jesus willingly came on a glory rescue mission, and because he did, there’s hope for us. When we admit to our glory thievery and when we cry out for help for our dysfunction, we can finally be free from the never-satisfying quest for worldly glory and live forever in the light of the satisfying glory of God.
When was the last time you admitted to your glory dysfunction with specificity and asked for God’s rescuing grace?
You see, there’s only One who exists in the universe who is ultimate in glory, ultimate in greatness, ultimate in beauty and ultimate in perfection, and, he is all of these things in everything he is and in everything he does. God has no glory inconsistencies, and he has no glory rivals. All that is comes from him, all that is continues to exist through him, and all that is was made for him (see Romans 11:36).
To live in light of the doctrine of glory isn’t just about being spiritual; it’s about recapturing your humanity, for this is how every human being was designed to live.
This article on the doctrine of glory is from Paul Tripp Ministries. For additional resources, visit www.paultripp.com. Used with permission.
