Why would God create us to worship and glorify Him?

[IWantGod]

Am I misreading the words glorify and worship ?

Yes…

To worship God is to worship Love.

To worship love is good. To glorify love is good. It brings us close to God and perfects us. It protects us from sin and saves the soul. It’s necessary for our spiritual development. It’s not the same thing as worshiping and glorifying a human-being. If God desires our worship, it is only because it is necessary for our own good - not his.

If God was not love itself, then his demanding worship would be self-centered since it would serve no function other than to emphasize his power and stroke his ego.

 

[mary77]

you really have to develop some depth of thinking. God is spirit , we can only find pure joy in worshipping and glorifying God, and if we dont worship and glorify God we will instead direct our worship and glory to false Gods.

 

[Peebo]

Ever looked up at the night sky and said “WOW” what a glorious God we have, I have countless times.

 

[TK421]

We call a person who wants to be glorified and worshiped a narcissist, yet find it ok with God?

I can understand God wanting us to love and know Him; parents want that from their child, but not to be worshiped and glorified.

Am I misreading the words glorify and worship?

Humility is directly related to truth.

It would be narcissistic for a creature to oblige others to worship them because a creature is a created thing and relies entirely on God to exist and to be sustained, and they cannot love except with divine aid. However, a human is created in the image of God and has a rational soul, and so it is not narcissistic for for people to be obliged to treat them with respect and kindness and dignity, because these are things we all owe to one another. If a person forfeits caring about being treated with dignity, that is not humility but false humility and poor self-esteem.

In the case of God, God is the author and source of all good, and so it is not narcissistic for people to be obliged to worship him. Not only would the person be sinning against God to deny him worship, but a person would be doing grave evil toward themselves, because worshiping God is the summit of happiness and blessedness.

Peace.

 

[fhansen]

It does not. Read what I said more carefully friend. I said that God does not NEED us to worship him, nor will it benefit him. Besides, as true as the quote may be, it doesn’t contridict my reason as to WHY God wants us to worship him (which is ultimately for our own goodness).

This is exactly right. The only reason God might “need” us to worship and adore Him is for our own good. To the extent that we understand that truth, we understand something of God’s nature and desire for our welfare, something of His boundless love. God is our own good. Our job here is to begin to understand that concept, that truth.

 

[Lunam_Meam]

The joy of God lacked nothing: God had no need. He is sufficient in Himself. He has only to contemplate Himself to rejoice, to nourish Himself, to live, to rest. The whole creation has not increased by one atom His infinite joy, beauty, life, and power.

Why did He create man then? Certainly many ask themselves why. Would you have preferred not to exist? Does this day not deserve, it itself, to be lived, although so poor and bare, and rendered harsh by our wickedness, so that we may know and admire the infinite beauty that the hand of God has sown in the universe?

It is worth while living to see such a work of God and to be grateful to His power that gives us the opportunity. And, we must be grateful to be alive.

 

[meltzerboy2]

I think that worshiping and glorifying Gd takes on different forms. Sure prayers of thanksgiving are one form. But how we treat others, humans, animals, the Earth itself, our acts of kindness, caring, justice, mercy, forgiveness are also forms of glorifying and worshiping Gd. So is the rational use of the mind Gd gave us, our ideas, creativity, imagination, fantasies, perseverance. Our joy in life, our work and play, our sense of self worth and humility, how we live our lives, all of these and more are ways in which we glorify and worship Gd.

 

[BornInMarch]

God created humans because He didn’t want to be alone in reality; for a being capable of infinite love loneliness would be intolerable. As for wanting us to glorify and worship Him, the claims He makes are true. If someone is responsible for every good thing that ever happens then He deserves praise and recognition for that.

 

[fide]

We call a person who wants to be glorified and worshiped a narcissist, yet find it ok with God?

God is “I AM” - Being BEING itself (Himself), in itself (Himself), He immediately defines objective and absolute reality - Truth. We are created and hence limited beings, limited, ultimately, to the horizons of ourselves. We can experience and judge subjectively, relatively. We can experience (in some way) the objective and the absolute only by a created participation in the Absolute, the Objective, God.

God IS good - Goodness - Himself in Himself. Being Good, He wills the good. What He wills for us is necessarily good. Thus our glorification, worship, adoration of God is our good - our objective and absolute good - our participation in His Goodness - our attainment of the purpose of our creation in the divine image and likeness, very good.

 

[Eric_Hyom]

But how we treat others, humans, animals, the Earth itself, our acts of kindness, caring, justice, mercy, forgiveness are also forms of glorifying and worshiping Gd.

Summed up beautifully in Mathew 25 -

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

 

[Eric_Hyom]

If you said that to Love Him is ultimately for our own goodness I may agree.

How do you love a God you cannot see? Again Mathew 25 helps us understand.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

 

[Anrakyr]

We call a person who wants to be glorified and worshiped a narcissist, yet find it ok with God?

There’s a game I play where a 4000 year old vampire mage wakes up and snaps his fingers destroying a global curse. He is described as “what would be megalomania in a lesser creature.”

When you are that powerful does narcissist even apply correctly?

Just musing, carry on.

 

[Wesrock]

God created humans because He didn’t want to be alone in reality; for a being capable of infinite love loneliness would be intolerable. As for wanting us to glorify and worship Him, the claims He makes are true. If someone is responsible for every good thing that ever happens then He deserves praise and recognition for that.

I don’t see if you are Catholic or not. However, in Catholic theology, this is incorrect. God’s fulfillment is not dependent on us. He would not be lonely.

 

[BornInMarch]

Lonely might not have been the right word, but an infinite capacity for Love is a part of God’s nature in Catholic theology. He is not a disinterested observer, but is rather heavily invested in every single human being.