God gave us His commandments to help us
“Can a person do anything to help God? Can even a wise person be helpful to him? Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?” Job 22:2-3 (NLT).
“If you sin, how does that affect God? Even if you sin again and again, what effect will it have on him? If you are good, is this some great gift to him? What could you possibly give him? No, your sins affect only people like yourself, and your good deeds also affect only humans.” Job 35:6-8 (NLT).
From these verses we understand that God doesn’t need us, but that we need Him. He is not affected by our sinfulness or by our righteousness. These can only affect people, our fellow men.
We serve God when we obey the commandments that He gave us. But He has not given us His commandments for His own sake, so that we would help Him if we keep them. Not at all! He has given us His commandments for our sake, to give us wisdom, and so that we can be happy.
To seek honour is unrighteous
There is only one way that we can serve God, and that is by living and serving in such a way that God receives the honour and glory. Then we are upright; otherwise we do unrighteousness. “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” John 7:18.
You are unrighteous if you say, “Lord, Lord!” and seek honour for yourself. Then it doesn’t help that you have done many wonderful things in Jesus’ name; you have served yourself, not Jesus. Jesus made this very clear when He said: “On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws!’” Matthew 7:22-23 (NLT).
This can be difficult to understand. How could they do such great things in Jesus’ name, and still He did not know them? It’s very simple, it was because they did this unrighteousness, they took the honour for what they did. Honour and power belong to God alone (1 Timothy 6:16). If you take any of that honour for yourself, you are a deceiver. And it doesn’t help to say, “Lord, Lord!” or “All glory to God!”
Paul was a faithful servant of the Lord. He felt that it would be a shame for him if Christ was not glorified by his body. “For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honour to Christ, whether I live or die.” Philippians 1:20 (NLT). He did not find many such faithful servants. When he wrote this, he said he had only Timothy; all the others cared only for themselves and not for what mattered to Jesus Christ. (Philippians 2:19-23.)
If people want to get some honour for what they do, it doesn’t matter what they achieve and sacrifice; whether they do it to spread the gospel or to save souls, they serve themselves if they seek their own honour by doing it. Then they do not have a sincere care. God had made Paul an apostle to lead people among all nations to be obedient to the faith, to the glory of Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:5.) If he had worked for his own honour, he would not have been faithful. He would have been unrighteous.
Serve God – glorify God
Jesus is an example in seeking God’s honour, just as He is an example in everything else. His only thought was to glorify His Father. In times of great trouble and suffering His prayer was that His Father’s name might be glorified, not that He might avoid the situation. “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to your name.” John 12:27-28 (NLT). If this is our prayer when we are in difficult circumstances, the difficult situation itself will also be glorious for us.
When Jesus described His work on earth, He said it with the following words: “I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” John 17:4 (CEB). We are serving God if we have it the same in whatever we do.