|
Praising the Lord has been exploited in get-rich-schemes. Commercialization
of praise and worship to the Lord may have caused some of us to
back away from publicly praising the Lord. This is a natural response
to avoid association with people who appear to be exploiting things
holy.
The purpose of this article is to set forth Biblical principles
of praising the Lord. Then, we may each evaluate our lives in respect
to praising the Lord.
The first aspect of praising the Lord is one in which we may excel.
Christians praise the Lord by their conduct and character. Paul
says: "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and
more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the
things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense
till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness
which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Phil.
1:9-11).
A Christian should be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
This is contrasted with the fruits of the flesh (Gal. 5) which are
sinful. Fruits represent a person's manner of life - all that a
person does and says. So, Christians who live according to the will
of God, glorify and praise God in their manner of life - their actions,
speech, and relationships with all men.
What does it mean to "praise" the Lord with my life? Praise is
defined as: "primarily a tale, narration, came to denote praise;
in the N.T. only of praise to God" (Vine's). Praise is ascribed
to God in respect to His glory. So, by dedicating my life to accomplish
the will of God, I glorify and praise Him before everyone who observes
my manner of life. The message Christians send the world through
a godly life is: I love God and Jesus; God and Jesus are more important
than self; I dedicate my life in service to the Lord.
Living a praiseworthy life is an all encompassing aspect of Christian
living. This is something that should be in the forefront of our
mind. Closing his epistle to the Philippians Paul says: "Finally,
brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever
things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if
there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things" (Phil.
4:8).
The results of Christians living praiseworthily are:
- Men Glorify God by observing a Christian's manner of life (Matt.
5:16).
- Ruling Authorities Praise Christians (1 Pet. 2:13-14).
- Christians Praise Christians (2 Cor. 8:18).
- God's Praise Will Be Upon Christians in the Judgement (1 Cor.
4:5).
Now, pause a moment and ask: Do I praise the Lord with my life?
Do I honor God with a life dedicated to serve, glorify, and praise
Him? Do people silently say: "Praise the Lord" when they interact
with me?
|
