GOD SHARES NOT HIS GLORY

Pr. Geoffrey Kibombo

Isaiah 42:8 (NIV)

"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.”

When we look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus, the first commandment God gave us is; not to make any images in his likeness – idols and not to bow before them. Exodus 20:3-5 (TLB) instructs; “You may worship no other god than me. 4 You shall not make yourselves any idols: no images of animals, birds, or fish. 5 You must never bow or worship it in any way: for I, the Lord your God, am very possessive. I will not share your affection with any other god!.............”

In the scriptures we see that God does not share his glory with any other thing! All he has done is for the sake of His name according to Isaiah 48:11 (NLT) “I will rescue you for my own sake - yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory......”

There are things we may not be aware of that can yield God’s anger; some blessings - jobs or children God has given us may turn into idols; our thinking or way of life can become an idol. If we exalt the things God has given us beyond his name, it causes his wrath to be unleashed unto us. We need to learn something from Paul; for he glorified God in everything he did and received. It had been revealed to him that it was not by his own strength or knowledge of the Jewish law to get all he had received in his life, but because of God. That is why he said in 1 Corinthians 15:10 (TLB) “But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out such kindness and grace upon me – and not without results: for I have worked harder than all the other apostles, yet actually I wasn’t doing it, but God working in me, to bless me.”

There are things God has blessed us with and because of them, he has taken away his saving hand – we have been blessed by God but instead of exalting him and glorifying his name, we take the praise by attributing the success to our efforts. The first thing you should know is that God does not share his glory with anyone or anything. Secondly, everything he does is for the glory of his name. There is nothing God has done in your life whether big or small which is not for the sake of his name - whatever God does is to glorify and exalt his name. God is serious concerning his glory; you do not mess with it! 

For whatever you have achieved in life, God wants you to glorify him; for any promotion, victory and success achieved, he wants you to acknowledge that it wasn’t by your own strength or experience or astuteness but by his grace and power – that is the reason why we testify; whoever testifies must have that mind! So whatever good thing has happened in your life is not because of your individual witty ways but because of God. If a testimony does not acknowledge God’s might or exalt his name, then it is not a testimony but a story. For all testimonies given, God must be glorified and his name lifted.

In everything that happens in your life, God’s name must be exalted. Everything God does in our lives, He does for his own glory. A couple of times our mindset or attitude is an equivalent of an idol; and other times our jobs have become idols. Some people think that all they do or have achieved is because of their own effort or academic qualifications while others attribute their success to their families and friends. However, what they do not perceive is that its God is at work behind the scenes. It takes God to move people to do things in your life be it your family members. Remember that even salvation is not by our own strength. Scriptures discourage us from boasting and attributing our salvation to our own strength because it is through God’s grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) reminds us; ^“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” 
It’s God’s grace that enables us to become Born Again and walk the Salvation journey; it is only God's grace that enables you to enter the narrow gate and walk through the difficult path. For everything you have and can do, it takes God not your strength or intellect!

Taking pride in yourself for what you have achieved ignites God’s wrath! That type of thinking causes enmity between you and God. We are encouraged in the scriptures to have an attitude such as that which was with Christ Jesus. It takes God to be able to; pay bills, sleep, wake-up, blink, build a house and accumulate wealth, not your strength and wisdom and once you begin to understand this, you will know that everything is by him, for him and all about him!! 
A proud egotistic person has the “I” mentality. He or she attributes successes to him or herself; but remember God resists the proud but blesses the humble - The more humble a person gets, the higher God exalts him or her. God resists the prideful attitude; He is patient but will not tolerate a proud person. The book of 1 Peter 5:5-6 (TLB) says; 

“You younger men, follow the leadership of those who are older. And all of you serve each other with humble spirits, for God gives special blessings to those who are humble, but sets himself against those who are proud. 6 If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up.”

God demands his honour and respect. He must be appreciated in every area of your life however small it may seem. It takes God for you to become what you are! He must therefore appear in your life. When you have done all you can, never forget to say ‘it’ was not me but God’ Malachi 1:6 (AMP) says; “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear and respect due Me? says the Lord of hosts to you……”

When the Israelites were leaving Egypt, they were given gold. God had blessed and favoured them and as a result they were able to accumulate those valuables. But we see in Exodus 32 that they melted and molded it into a golden calf and begun to worship it. God was angry because they were worshiping the work of their hands. They turned all the wealth God had given them into an idol. Some things God has blessed us with have become idols - we value them more than God. Do not let that which God has put in your life become an idol.

Many times we pray but our prayers are not answered. Why? Because we ask amiss; we make selfish showy prayers – Prayers that are aimed at nothing but our selfish interests. When you have an issue and ask God to help you, let it be for his own sake - that they will know that he is Mighty. David told Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45-47 (MSG)
“You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops, whom you curse and mock. 46 This very day God is handing you over to me. I’m about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there’s an extraordinary God in Israel. 47 And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn’t save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!”

You may have a need and God is going to give it to you, but how will it be known that you have you serve living God? Will you return the glory and honour to God? Some of our prayers are bent and God does not benefit from them – they are aimed at exalting us, but when David was preparing to combat Goliath, he made sure that he disappears and God appears. For every milestone you achieve do not forget that it is not your efforts but God. If you are able to see how far God has brought you, you will also be able to see how far he can take you!

One of the reasons as to why God has blessed us is that; his glory may be seen and name lifted - there is no other reason. In everything you achieve and all that you acquire, God must be seen. Your prayers will be hastened, when you pray with the motive of exalting God's name. Do not despise what God has done for you however small it seems - there is no small testimony! We are what we are because of God and that is why he deserves all the glory and honour. It is neither by your strength nor wisdom but by the grace and mighty hand of God. Always return the glory to him, exalt and lift up his name.

Happiness is ours, the glory is the Lords!