So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
“But the most obvious fact about praise — whether of God or anything — strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless (sometimes even if) shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it..”
C.S. Lewis in The Joyful Christian (New York: Macmillan, 1977) 118.
Many don’t think of generosity as flowing out of enjoyment, but track with me (and Lewis) on this. I think it could be an area to make God shine in challenging times.
Most people see enjoyment as an end. Take the pursuit of wine for example. Jesus himself enjoyed it with friends as a gift from God! But, many make the enjoyment of wine an end. It becomes an addiction that does not satisfy and leaves people empty.
If, alternatively, giving glory to God is our aim, we can enjoy things like wine or anything else as a gift from God. In our enjoyment, we celebrate God’s goodness and provision with praise. When we do this, our generosity emerges as a healthy example to the world and praise going to only appropriate place.
Let us give glory to God in our enjoyment. Let’s also remember those who are having hard times. Our enjoyment in moderation positions us to have margin for generous sharing.