“Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” — Psalm 115:1
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Stadiums are named in honor of beloved coaches, teams retire the jerseys of athletes who made great contributions, and occasionally statues are built in the likeness of superstar athletes and winning coaches. In sports, applause and recognition often go along with great performances.
But it’s important that players and coaches don’t crave the attention, as it can drain energy away from the team trying to reach its goals. When certain teammates are too self-centered, players and coaches can become at odds with one another and a toxic environment develops.
King David enjoyed cheers from the citizens when he won a military battle or helped his kingdom — like most of us would — but often his main concern was God’s glory over the personal attention. When he wanted to build a place of worship for all of the Israelites to worship God, he could have pouted when God said no. Instead, he accepted God’s will and was glad the Lord would allow his son, Solomon, to oversee the building later.
It didn’t matter to David that his name wouldn’t be associated with the place of worship. He was happy for it to be called Solomon’s temple as long as God was honored in the best way possible. David even set aside a large sum of money and materials for the upcoming construction before he died. “Then King David said to the whole assembly: ‘My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God — gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble — all of these in large quantities'” (1 Chronicles 29:1-2).
As David continued speaking, he praised God and rejoiced in the work of the Lord, even though many people would forget his large contribution to the project. David’s unselfish attitude is a good example for us in churches today. “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness” (Psalm 115:1).
As long as Christ is made known and churches are strengthened for future generations, it shouldn’t matter who gets the credit because all of the glory belongs to God anyway. So let us serve the Lord fervently and stop worrying about whether or not we get noticed.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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