God's Glory

I've been thinking a lot lately about God's glory. I head up a Christian non profit and it's mission is to help young girls who have been exploited. As a non profit, we are always in the process of raising funds and dependent on donors to be able to do our work. The issue of God's glory comes up because I want to raise funds in such a way that whatever success we achieve, brings God glory. The problem is, there are many secular non profits with profound success in raising money for causes that have nothing to do with God. It raises all kinds of questions, such as... does God bless the work of a non profit even if they are secular simply because they are working to help the poor? Does God desire a Christian non profit to raise funds in a certain way so that it is clear He is behind the success in fundraising? If so, what would that certain way look like? These are questions for which I do not yet have answers. However, it has caused me to look into the Scriptures to learn more about God's glory.

First of all, the Bible tells us clearly that God deserves glory. One of the better known verses is 1 Chronicles 16:29- "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name...". We are to give the glory to God that He deserves. In fact, 1 Chronicles 29:11 tells us that ALL glory ultimately belongs to the Lord. "Yours, O LORD is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours." Psalm 8:1 tells us that God set His glory above the heavens, while Psalms 19:1 reminds us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 24 talks about the King of Glory, and in Isaiah 6:3 the cherubim are crying out that the whole earth is filled with His glory. Finally, Isaiah 40:5 reminds us that everyone...everyone will eventually see the glory of the LORD.

What concerns me is that God is also jealous for His glory. Isaiah 48:11 tells us "...my glory I will not give to another." Yet Paul tells us in Romans 2:10 that everyone who does good will receive glory.

My conclusion at this point is that God is in charge of His glory. He has put everything in place within creation to bring Him glory. He has created us for His glory. He created the angels for His glory. The whole earth is full of His glory. His glory is evident all around us. Therefore, He is in charge of His glory, not us. In addition, He has chosen to share His glory with us if we are obedient to Him and following His path. In other words, He is responsible for how His glory is manifested and revealed, and we are responsible for being obedient to Him. Part of that obedience is that we should also be careful that we ascribe to the Lord the glory He deserves. I do believe that extends to fundraising. Perhaps it's as easy as pursuing the fundraising techniques that He has chosen to bless, and then making sure that we ascribe to Him the glory and honor He deserves by establishing that blessing.