Do It All for the Glory of God

A casual conversation with a colleague highlighted the significance of 1 Cor 10:31 to me.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

I have read this verse before, pondered upon it and even memorised it, but I have never had it contrasted against the non-believer's work ethic. The conversation went like so...

Me: "Let's make sure the documents go out in those nice envelopes... Make sure they are prepped properly."

Colleague: "You know, the people that get these aren't going to even notice all the work that's going into it. Besides, they may never get to see it since they have secretaries."

There and then, I thought about 1 Cor 10:31...

"It's okay... I know Who notices."

It is TRUE: if no one would bother with this, then why do it? If the extra 5 minutes of work results in nothing that says "Daniel did this", then why should I do it? It is not going to affect my grading, or my standing or my salary or whatever. Why do it?

Yet as a Christian, I am supposed to do it.
The Apostle Paul, ambassador of Christ Himself, commands us to do it.

The non-believer would find no reason to think in such a way.
They would not acknowledge their God.

So this seemingly unimportant chat became God's way of instruction - what a blessing!

A side thought...
I remember the words of Christ regarding fasting (Matt 6:16-18). The principle of the God who rewards work done in secret is there too! 

Adding Virtue... how?

Recently, the cell group has been going thru 2 Peter 1, a phenomenal chapter in an awesome book that has been very encouraging to me (and the cell I hope!). In fact, the first chapter is so good, I'd like to study it some more and share some of its treasures on this blog. Right now though, I'm going to explain something that was brought up in the cell group... so maybe you can treat this as a teaser/trailer of sorts. Heh.

Here's the passage, 2 Peter 1:5-7;

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (emphasis mine)

A short note on this list - this list should not be read as a step-by-step process or journey of the Christian life because in the following verses, the Apostle addresses these qualities as a whole. Rather, he seems primarily intent on portraying a complete picture of Christian qualities, while at the same time choosing qualities that move from the internal to the external.

Now the question raised was - how do you "supplement your faith with virtue"?  Or as the KJV puts it, how do you "add to your faith virtue"? 

What is "virtue" anyway? 
A quick check with wiki and dictionaries yield the definitions moral excellence or goodness. This is in line with the various translations -

1. NIV: goodness
2. NLT: moral excellence 
3. NASB: moral excellence
4. ESV: virtue
5. KJV: virtue 

Context Check
This "virtue" is whose virtue?
Based on the preceding verses (2 Peter 1:3-4), where Peter spoke about "having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire" - this "virtue" has to be the virtue that is not of the world, but of God.

Just to be doubly sure, let's check the Greek behind it. The Greek is "aretē" and Strong's Concordance has this definition: "properly manliness (valor), i.e. excellence (intrinsic or attributed) :- praise, virtue." So that's a nod for the translation of "virtue" and in addition, we know that this "virtue" can be intrinsic or attributed.

Context Check
Does Peter use "virtue" in an intrinsic or attributed sense?
I believe it is in an attributed sense for the Apostle instructs us to supplement (i.e. to add) not develop or improve or work-with-whatever-is-within-us.

Now we have a clearer picture - "virtue" has to do with moral excellence based on God and, in this context, it is attributed to the Christian.


Back to the original question - how do you "supplement your faith with virtue"?

Perhaps we can do so by working virtuous acts. However, this is unlikely for the following reasons:

1. There is no definition of working virtuous acts either in the Greek or in the word ("virtue") itself.
2. There seems to be an order in the qualities mentioned from v5 - v7; i.e. moving from the internal (faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control) to the external (steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love) of the Christian. If so, understanding "virtue" as "working virtuous acts" would be out of place in this order. 
3. In addition, to interpret "virtue" as working virtuous acts may be affirming the consequent, as seen here:
   
   A virtuous person will work virtuous acts
   Person X does virtuous acts
   Therefore, Person X is virtuous
   
   While a virtuous person would do virtuous deeds (Matt 12:35), virtuous deeds do not necessarily make a person virtuous (Matt 15:3-9). After all, I can be a hypocrite by doing good things for evil gain. Therefore, such an interpretation actually downgrades the definition of "virtue" to mere good works. 

So that's out of the window... what gives?

I found a little clue from reading James... In James 1:21-27, James begins with this line - "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (emphasis mine) - and thereafter he continues with instructions on being a doer of the Word. Receive and then the doing.

So "adding virtue" could mean to receive (i.e. accept/embrace/agree with) God's virtue? I think it is very likely a YES for the following reasons:

1. The English word allows for such a definition (Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster). 
2. As an internal act, this is in-line with the proposed order in 2 Peter 1:5-7. 
3. This understanding helps to prevent logical fallacies.

Therefore, I believe that to "supplement your faith with virtue" would mean adding increasing acceptance of God's virtue.



Such an understanding yields interesting applications. One aspect of my life that is lacking in acceptance of God's virtue, would be in the area of dealing with sin. I actually "grade" my sins. Some sins are somehow lesser to me and I don't bother about them as much. What an odd notion! Something to reflect upon...

Inadequacy

So I led my cell group in a short study of 2 Peter 1:1-11. It's such an amazingly written piece of Scripture (and which part of Scripture isn't?!) that packs so much encouragement for believers in such a short passage. I was so utterly amazed by my recent reading of it that... I was bursting at the seams - I wanted so badly to share this piece of incredible encouragement with everyone. So I started with the cell.

And I came away from it somewhat disappointed and with a sense of shame. Not with Scripture, for it is sufficient (Ps 19:7-11), but with myself because I have failed to handle the Word properly (2 Tim 2:15). I believe I could have done more to bring out the tremendous encouragements and truths from the passage but I fell short. Especially in the area where the Apostle writes about "these things" (2 Peter 1:5-7), I ought to have spent more time studying the various items and expanded upon them some more. There is no excuse for missing the obvious emphasis the Apostle placed on "these things" for he clearly stresses, reminds and advises his reader about them.

There are still more things that I have found lacking... but there's no need to speak of all of them now. What I must do now, is to make sure that the duty entrusted to me, to lead the cell through the first chapter of 2 Peter, does not go unfulfilled. I can only thank God that He has laid it on my heart to strive for a respectable handling of His precious Word.