Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This sounds like a quote for guitar kings, divas, divos, soccer stars, martial arts stars, and all other kinds of stars and starlets – an egoistic culture focusing on pumping up each individual’s self-centered ego. Oh Lordy, how am I sick of that! TV, Radio, Internet, social media, day in and day out!

The ego wants to puff up bigger and bigger, until it becomes an overinflated balloon and explodes.

But, there is one instance when you would want to be glorified, and that is in the other half of the Jesus quote: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

You can see this in the sports field, especially soccer. Say, the famed Brazilian soccer team, as well as most South and Central America teams, each time a player scores a goal, he kneels down right there in the field and point his index up, toward Heavens, to thank God and also to say to his spectators: “Not me. That is God’s work.”

That is: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.

We don’t want any credit for ourself, but we still want people to give us credits so that we have a chance to offer such credits to God, in front of men, to glorify God.

We are nothing, just a simple and lowly conduit for God.

That is, “All my work is for God and to serve the Glory of God.” This is the core of theology in the Abrahamic tradition (Judaism, Christianity – Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant – and Islam).

But why do we want to serve the Glory of God? Why should God want glory, God being God?

True, God is God, hence God neither wants nor needs glory for Him/Herself. But God wants people of the world to see His/Her glory, to know more about God, to follow God, and to learn what God teaches, so that people will live in love, peace, and happiness.

God wants God’s glory only to help us humans live well – because God loves all God’s children.

That is how we may have glory given to us, but our ego will not puff up, and in our heart, we are only a humble and lowly worker doing God’s work.

How to do God work?

Do your work well, be it soccer, singing, doctoring, teaching, engineering, cooking or whatevering, then your light shall shine. And when it shines, you offer all the credits and glory to Heaven.

And you can do that with or without religious affiliation – Just offer all the credits and glory to God, or Allah, or Buddha, Trời, Ông Trời, Trời Đất (Heaven and Earth), the Great Spirit, the Supreme Spirit, All the Saints, All the Souls, All the Spirits… whoever you see fit.

As long as you don’t keep any credit or glory for yourself, your heart will not puff up and shall not explode.

Wish we all be humble and lowly in heart.

With compassion,

Hoành

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Trần Đình Hoành
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