Is it wrong to not think about God?

[Ben Collyer]

I've been reading a lot from christian hedonists such as piper who seem to think that we must do everything to the glory of God

he makes it sound like if im eating a steak then I MUST be thinking about Gods glory as communicated by the steaks flavour, or if im watching a sunset I MUST be thinking about how the sun communicates Gods glory, its exhausting and really sucks the enjoyment out of my life

so is it true that its sin to do/think/say anything without reference to God?

 

[Chinchilla]

Yes God is selfish and hates when somebody is stealing his glory but I would like to see if piper himself did everything to the glory of God before rebuking others .

If you want peace of mind just thank him after meal when your belly is full .

 

[Doug Melven]

I've been reading a lot from christian hedonists such as piper who seem to think that we must do everything to the glory of God

he makes it sound like if im eating a steak then I MUST be thinking about Gods glory as communicated by the steaks flavour, or if im watching a sunset I MUST be thinking about how the sun communicates Gods glory, its exhausting and really sucks the enjoyment out of my life

so is it true that its sin to do/think/say anything without reference to God?

Doing all things to the glory of God should not be sucking the enjoyment out of life.
It sounds to me like the way it is being portrayed is a law, something you have to do otherwise you will be punished.
When you see the sunset thank God that He made something so beautiful for your pleasure.
When eating a steak, thank Him and enjoy the steak.
To me giving thanks to God for everything is giving Him the glory and doing all things to His glory.
If you feel you have to force yourself to give Him the glory, spend some time seeing how magnificent He is and everything He does is good.
See, what Christ has done for you and then love for Him will come naturally and you will want to give Him the glory in all things.

 

[Ben Collyer]

Doing all things to the glory of God should not be sucking the enjoyment out of life.
It sounds to me like the way it is being portrayed is a law, something you have to do otherwise you will be punished.
When you see the sunset thank God that He made something so beautiful for your pleasure.
When eating a steak, thank Him and enjoy the steak.
To me giving thanks to God for everything is giving Him the glory and doing all things to His glory.
If you feel you have to force yourself to give Him the glory, spend some time seeing how magnificent He is and everything He does is good.
See, what Christ has done for you and then love for Him will come naturally and you will want to give Him the glory in all things.

what are the consequences of not doing these things then if it isnt a law?

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

I've been reading a lot from christian hedonists such as piper who seem to think that we must do everything to the glory of God
he makes it sound like if im eating a steak then I MUST be thinking about Gods glory as communicated by the steaks flavour, or if im watching a sunset I MUST be thinking about how the sun communicates Gods glory, its exhausting and really sucks the enjoyment out of my life
so is it true that its sin to do/think/say anything without reference to God?

No wonder you are confused (posted/ stated in other posts/ other thread(s)). If you listen to ones such as that. (false teachers and false prophets)

 

[Doug Melven]

what are the consequences of not doing these things then if it isnt a law?

It is a law. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we do we should do to His glory.
This is sound wisdom, and it is for our benefit.
But, when we say things are laws, that we have to do them, something inside of us resists.
When you tell someone they have to do something, or can't do something it is our flesh that rises up and making it much more difficult to what we know to do.

The consequences of not giving God the glory lead down a bad path.
Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Not giving Him glory leads to unthankfulness leads to a vain imagination leads to a darkened heart.

So give God the glory. But it should not be forced. It should be done out of love.

 

[Basil the Great]

I suppose that one could interpret "pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances" to mean that we must give thanks for pretty much every single act that we do during the day, but that does seem to be a bit of a stretch.

 

[St_Worm2]

so you ARE saying me that I can't go to the toilet for a [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] without thanking God

Actually, if memory serves, Orthodox Jews thank God for that very thing every day. And why would they not? Can you imagine how short and painful life would be if we couldn't get rid of the toxins/waste that our bodies create

Hello Ben, "Christian Hedonism" is a somewhat unfortunate term, IMHO (because of what "hedonism" normally means). That said, I understand why Piper uses it. Here is his explanation: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-christian-hedonism

And here's one of his illustrations from that article that will help clarify what he means by it:

An Illustration from Marriage
So, as an illustration: It’s my anniversary. I say to Noel, “I am going to take you out tonight, because it is our 47th anniversary, and spending the night with you would make me really happy.”

No wife has ever said, nor would Noel ever say, “You are so selfish. All you think about is yourself. It makes you happy taking me out and spending the evening with me.” No wife ever complains that is selfish. Why? Because if I pursue my full satisfaction in my wife, she is honored. So it is with God. If we are drawn to God because we want to spend time with God, if God is our treasure and our satisfaction, God is honored.​

This truth — God is most glorified in us, or Christ is most magnified in us, when we are most satisfied with Him — is not peripheral. This is not peripheral to the Christian life or peripheral to the book of Philippians. This is right at the heart of what it means to be a believer, what it means to belong to Jesus Christ, what it means to treasure and trust Jesus Christ. This is not icing on the cake of Christianity. This is at the heart of Christianity.
​

Is seems to me that Piper is speaking about growth in/a lifelong pursuit of something wonderfully fulfilling for him as a Christian, a Christian "ideal" if you will, ~not~ obedience to a command (IOW, not a "MUST" do kind of thing as you seem to be describing in your OP).

Just to be clear however, doing "all to the glory of God" is a Biblical admonishment/command that is both stated and implied throughout the Bible. For instance:

1 Corinthians 10
31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
​

Hoping to put a different spin on all of this for you, here is one of my favorite verses in the Bible (it's a command with a promise, actually):

Psalms 37
4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.​

Take time to consider what that verse is telling us (especially the first 1/2, which is the only part of that verse that we need to focus on). Just to be clear, our concern is to delight "ourselves" in Him, not to "delight Him" (so that He will give us what we want in return for doing so, like some kind of Cosmic Sugar-Daddy might .. as if the relationship He wants to have with us amounts to nothing more than a quid pro quo ).

Simply put, the key to understanding Psalm 37:4 and the Christian life is this, we are to chase after Him, not after the things we desire .. e.g Matthew 6:33.

Yours and His,
David
p.s. - The Christian life is not about what we do for God, it's all about Him, which certainly includes growing in the knowledge, understanding and wonder of all of that He has done/is doing/will do for all of us who are His .. cf 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:28; Philippians 1:6; 2:13; Hebrews 7:25

 

[dreadnought]

I've been reading a lot from christian hedonists such as piper who seem to think that we must do everything to the glory of God

he makes it sound like if im eating a steak then I MUST be thinking about Gods glory as communicated by the steaks flavour, or if im watching a sunset I MUST be thinking about how the sun communicates Gods glory, its exhausting and really sucks the enjoyment out of my life

so is it true that its sin to do/think/say anything without reference to God?

We should be in constant prayer (1 Thess 5:17). It's advantageous to us because the Lord solves all our problems for us and shows us the way.

 

[St_Worm2]

We should be in constant prayer (1 Thess 5:17). It's advantageous to us because the Lord solves all our problems for us and shows us the way.

I agree (and as you already pointed out, so does the Bible ).

1 Thessalonians 5
16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.​

Basically, we are called to continually grow in the practice of the presence of God in our lives (in every nook, cranny and corner of them, in fact). The things the Lord commands/admonishes us to do for His glory always end up being the very things that we need to do for OUR highest good as well

--David

 

[Doug Melven]

when

so you ARE saying me that I can't go to the toilet for a [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] without thanking God

There are people who have trouble with that very thing. If I were you I would be thankful you are not one of them.
When I wake up I thank God for a good night's rest. I give thanks to Him all of the time.
This has the added effect of getting rid of pride.

 

[Sketcher]

I would say it's wrong to never think about God. I don't read Piper or the verses people have quoted here as "do this or else." I read them as invitations to see God's glory where you haven't seen it before, to worship and enjoy him in new ways, a peeling back of the curtain so to speak. I don't believe God would have us stress over forgetting to think about him for however many minutes or seconds when performing a task at work, for instance.

 

[Doug Melven]

One of my favorite books is "Practicing the Presence of God".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Practice_of_the_Presence_of_God

He was 17th Century monk who's sole desire was to live in the Presence of God.
He wanted to give God glory in everything. And he received great joy from doing this. He was a great model of Psalms 16:11, In the presence of God is fulness of joy.

This is a part of one his prayers.
O Lord of pots and pans and things,
Since I have no time to be
a great saint by doing lovely things,
or watching late with Thee,
or dreaming in the dawnlight,
or storming Heaven’s gates,
Make me a saint by getting meals,
and washing up the plates.

Taken from: https://anitamathias.com/2010/05/28/brother-lawrence-living-in-heaven-on-earth/

 

[aiki]

I've been reading a lot from christian hedonists such as piper who seem to think that we must do everything to the glory of God

he makes it sound like if im eating a steak then I MUST be thinking about Gods glory as communicated by the steaks flavour, or if im watching a sunset I MUST be thinking about how the sun communicates Gods glory, its exhausting and really sucks the enjoyment out of my life

so is it true that its sin to do/think/say anything without reference to God?

Well, whose universe are you in? In whom is all of reality grounded? Who sustains your existence at every moment? When you die, before whom will you stand and give an account of your life? It seems to me that at every turn your life (and mine) revolve inexorably and constantly around our Creator. He stands at the beginning of our earthly lives and at their end. Why, then, do you find acknowledging Him in all the delights of life "exhausting" and joy-killing? This universe is fundamentally all about Him, not you (or me). What is the problem with enjoying God through all of the good tastes, sounds, smells, sights and sensations that He has made it possible for us to experience?

1 Corinthians 10:31
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

 

[Thir7ySev3n]

I've been reading a lot from christian hedonists such as piper who seem to think that we must do everything to the glory of God

he makes it sound like if im eating a steak then I MUST be thinking about Gods glory as communicated by the steaks flavour, or if im watching a sunset I MUST be thinking about how the sun communicates Gods glory, its exhausting and really sucks the enjoyment out of my life

so is it true that its sin to do/think/say anything without reference to God?

A better question is why would you not want to do this? Praising God in thankfulness for all that you have received from Him is the easiest "work" you could do. It is hardly a work and more of a reflex if you are actually grateful. How many times have you boasted the greatness or quality of something, even a good steak, when you really enjoyed it as a mere response to the joy it gave you? Even something like "This steak is incredible!" or "This is my favourite movie, you have to watch it!" We do this many times without even thinking consciously about it, sometimes to the point of trying to sell our pleasure in something as if we were paid advertisers. Why should it be so hard to naturally and sincerely say, "Thank you God for this delicious meal and the satisfaction it gave me," or to praise Him in response to anything else you enjoy. The time it takes you to reactively say in your mind "this is good" or "that was fun" is the time it would take you to give credit to Whom credit is due.

As also aforementioned in previous posts, a strong habit of simple thankfulness will remind you who the source of all joy is and draw you closer to God as you remember that the fullness of joy is to be found in your relationship with Him directly, since all that has ever given you joy comes from His hand. Since that is the case, how much more joy will the author of these things have reserved for you in Himself?

 

[St_Worm2]

A better question is why would you not want to do this?

I think that is a very important question!

 

[Ben Collyer]

I am quietly grateful, but Im not one of those people who wake up and spring out of bed thanking God audibly, there is a stench of legalism and phariseeism in these replies

 

[Doug Melven]

I am quietly grateful, but Im not one of those people who wake up and spring out of bed thanking God audibly, there is a stench of legalism and phariseeism in these replies

I am not one to do that either.
I just like to make it a point to thank God for the things He does for me.
As Psalms 92:2 says it is good to declare Your lovingkindness every morning and Your faithfulness every evening.
If you have to force gratitude, it is not gratitude.
And if you have to force gratitude, you might not understand what has been done for you.
If I were you I would look into finding out all of the things Christ has done for you. The list is inexhaustible.

 

[dreadnought]

I am quietly grateful, but Im not one of those people who wake up and spring out of bed thanking God audibly, there is a stench of legalism and phariseeism in these replies

I don't remember using the word "audible." Lots of people want scripture to support what we say, but you don't need scripture - common sense is all you need. It's our job love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and souls.

 

[Doug Melven]

I don't remember using the word "audible." Lots of people want scripture to support what we say, but you don't need scripture - common sense is all you need. It's our job love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and souls.

@dreadnought says all we need is common sense and then he quotes Scripture to prove his point.

We absolutely need Scripture, we base our lives on it. Those who don't base there lives on it have problems. Proverbs 14:12