Now, does this strike you as divine egotism?

Domitian, the Roman emperor at the time of the Revelation, required all his subjects to address him as "Lord and God." We shudder at such pride.

When Muhammad Ali was in his prime, he boarded an airplane and sat down. The flight attendant asked him to buckle his seatbelt, to which he replied, "Superman don't need no seat belt." The attendant smiled and said, "Superman don't need no airplane, either." Ali buckled his seat belt.

Why does God require that we live for his glory alone? That we seek to glorify him with all we do, every moment that we live? Why is glorifying God the one indispensable element in fulfilling his dream for our lives? Let's do some theological thinking for a moment.

Fact #1: God is not an egotist who needs our affirmation. Most of us need encouragement to feel good about ourselves and what we do; he doesn't. Most of us live with deep-seated feelings of inferiority which we mask by seeking power and popularity; God doesn't.

Fact #2: God cannot glorify anyone but himself without committing idolatry. Neither can we. By definition, God is "that, than which nothing greater can be conceived" (St Anselm of Canterbury). If we glorify anyone before this God, we make that person an idol. Including ourselves. Especially ourselves.

Fact #3: such idolatry is the central disease of the human condition. Adam and Eve were tempted to "be like God," and the human race fell into sin as a result (Genesis 3:5). Cain's jealousy toward Abel led to the first murder. David's prideful lust led to his adultery. Solomon's idolatry led to his nation's civil war. The religious authorities' jealousy of Jesus' popularity led to his crucifixion.

Fact #4: glorifying God is the only antidote to human idolatry. The only way I can be preserved today from self-serving pride in teaching this message is to do it for God's glory alone. The only way you can be saved from self-serving pride in your religion today, or in your performance, popularity and possessions tomorrow, is to use them for God's glory alone. In all you do, with every moment you live, with every breath you take, you will serve the God in heaven or the god in the mirror. One or the other, always.

You may have seen reports about the dreaded Northern Snakehead, a voracious predator dubbed the "Frankenfish." It can breathe out of water and wiggle across land. It eats other fish, frogs, and even birds and mammals. It has now made its way into the Great Lakes, and threatens the ecosystems there.

There's a Frankenfish living in my house, waiting to devour everything in its path. Ready to destroy all that God has made. I see him every morning in my mirror. So do you, in yours.