Glory to God! Is it really?

Does your art bring glory to God? Or instead, is it more about bringing you pleasure and recognition?

If we really are about bringing glory to God through our art, shouldn't people be drawn to the Lord upon observing or experiencing it? Shouldn't they at least be reflecting upon God or some aspect of who He is, His creation, His goodness, love and mercy, etc.

The "glory" of God has been described as the "heavy weight of God's presence and power".* We even have an example in the Old Testament that when the glory of God filled the temple, the priests could not continue ministering (2 Chronicles 5:14) and, in another example, they could not even enter the temple (the house of the Lord) because the glory of the Lord had filled the temple (2 Chronicles 7:2).

I believe this is the kind of glory God desires for us to experience and display to our culture in our lives and through our gifts.

Questions to ponder:

1) Is your art really bringing glory to God?

Psalm 115:1 - Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, because of your mercy, because of your truth.

2) Is God's glory being revealed and experienced through your artistic gifting?

1 Corinthians 10:31 - ....whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Revelation 4:11 (The Message Bible) - Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God! Take the glory! the honor! the power! You created it all; it was created because you wanted it.

3) More importantly, is God's glory on display in your life?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

*Notes below taken from Wikipedia:

*"Glory" is one of the most common words in scripture. In the Old Testament, the word is used to translate several Hebrew words, including Hod (הוד) and kabod; and in the New Testament it is used to translate the Greek word doxa (δόξα). The Hebrew word kabod (K-B-D) originally means "weight" or "heaviness." The same word is then used to express importance, honor, and majesty. Greek versions of the Hebrew Bible translated this concept with the word doxa, which was then used extensively in the New Testament as well. Doxa originally means "judgment, opinion", and by extension, "good reputation, honor".

Glory (from the Latin gloria, "fame, renown") is used to denote the manifestation of God's presence. God's glory is often associated with visible displays of light, e.g. thunderbolts, fire, brightness.

As image bearers of Christ, we are called to display His glory.