The Most Mundane For God's Glory

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is I Corinthians10:31.  It challenges the socks off of me because I realize, every time I read it, counsel it, ponder it, how I fall woefully short of the command.  The verse says, "Whether therefore, you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God."  It's pretty straight forward, wouldn't you say?  Unfortunately, the very direct and specific command often times gets lost in the clutter of busyness.  Perhaps it gets over looked because it can be so loaded down with "Christianeze" that most think it applies only to those who wear the clergy garb, or those who land in the leadership of some religious organization.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The command is found in the letter written to a church in the ancient city of Corinth.  The church was a mess at the time that Paul wrote this letter.  Many in the church were struggling to leave behind the rudimentary effects of living in the moral filth of the Corinthian society.  As one studies the book of I Corinthians, it seems like the similarities between the American church of the 21st century and the church in Corinth are striking.  Needless to say, this verse was written to men and women who are just like you and me---common, everyday, down to earth folks.
  So God's command through the pen of the Apostle Paul is diametrically opposed to how many of the Corinthian believers were living their lives.  Paul makes it clear that even the most mundane things, such as eating and drinking are to be done for God's glory.  That means, as John Piper instructs in one of his great articles, that one should drink orange juice to the glory of God.  Everything one eats and everything one drinks is not just about having hunger or thirst satisfied. It isn't just about the simple enjoyment of the taste of something that we enjoy.  No, it is about something much greater.  It is about the Creator's glory.  In 2 Corinthians 5 we are reminded that Christ died for us so that those of us who live will no longer live for ourselves but for Him.  Everything we do is to be for Him, not self.  So when we enjoy a great meal, a great cup of coffee, a nice cold glass of coke, or a bowl of ice cream, we do so with thankfulness in our hearts for the One who gave us all things to enjoy (see I Timothy 6).  We do so, realizing that these things we eat and drink are merely tools that are intended to point to the Creator.  The food we eat and the beverages which we drink are intended to give us the energy to do Kingdom business. Anything outside of that really falls short of what God commands of us.  But there is so much more to the command of I Corinthians 10:31.  But that is for another post.
  So here's the challenge:  Every time you go to eat something or drink something, enjoy it, but as you enjoy it, engage your mind to thank the One who Created;  thank the One who gave you taste buds;  and then take the energy you have and use the ability that the Creator gave you to speak, and tell someone else about the greatness of our God.