What's It All About, Alfie?

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)

The most well-known of the 107 questions and answers of the Westminster Catechism is surely:

"What is the chief end of man?  Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."

This singular truth from God's Word was brought home to me again this week, believe it or not, by a movie from 1966 entitled "Alfie."  A young Britisher named Alfie Elkins lives a totally self-seeking life, using everyone in his path as a means to his own selfish end.  At the end of the movie, however, circumstances in his life cause him to realize that if you don't have peace of mind then you don't have anything at all.  In the closing scene as the title character walks slowly into the twilight, the theme song is sung, a portion of which includes the words:

What's it all about, Alfie? 
Is it just for the moment we live?
What's it all about, when you sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give?

Clearly from God's perspective we are not meant to take instead of give.  In fact, all that we do is intended to bring glory to God.  This question and answer from the Westminster Catechism is not just for Presbyterian believers!  It is to be the lifeblood of every follower of Jesus Christ.  Nothing is more foundational to any human being than eating and drinking.  Paul's point, then, is that seeking the glory of God is to be as foundational to our living as are eating and drinking.  We should view every circumstance of life through the prism of God's glory.  We should actively seek for ways in which to bring glory to God no matter what we are doing.  Seeking God's glory is not a switch that we can turn on and off, beloved!

We may not ourselves be as self-seeking and self-serving as was Alfie Elkins, but the question we need to continually ask ourselves as we walk through this life is: "Will this glorify God?"  A later line in the theme song for the movie states: "As sure as I believe there's a heaven above, Alfie."  Well, there is a heaven above and the dictate of heaven is that we should live this life in full, relentless, and joyful pursuit of the glory of God.  And that is what "it" is all about!

Ron