…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:3

I am afraid that I am not always glorifying God. anonymous

Well do I remember that bondage! I moved to Delray Beach, Florida with my family in 1971. It was like a dream come true. I loved the ocean, and I would go to the beach every single day! Two years later (I was 20) I went to a Bible College that sat right on the beach in Hollywood, FL (about an hour south of Delray). My dorm overlooked the ocean as did the dining room.

The Bible College was founded upon soul-winning with a premise of CIO (contact is opportunity). I just wanted to go swimming in the soothing, crystal-clear saltwater … but there were always PEOPLE (read that, “contacts”) around. We were inundated with testimonies of witnessing experiences every day in the classroom … many of which were negative and condemning as we constantly heard of how people were going to hell because somebody wouldn’t take the time to witness to them.

Okay, so I finally get up enough nerve to go out to the beach one EVENING when I saw NOBODY there. Whew! When I got out there I felt the condemnation beginning to descend upon me. Why? Because I was apparently not concerned about winning souls.

AND THEN … my fear came true … some people (not students) came out to the same area I was at … and I didn’t witness to them. No, I tried to nonchalantly move away from them and pretend that I couldn’t see them. Do you know why? No, I didn’t think that I was fooling God, as I wasn’t even thinking about Him … I was wondering how many Bible College students were looking at me from one of the hundreds of windows the faced the ocean, judging me letting those people go to hell! I imagined myself as being on center-stage. So I slowly moved to the shore, collected my stuff, and headed back to my dorm. I kept my eyes down and pretended not to notice all the windows that were staring at me.

I never went back to that beach for the three years I was there.

I know the trap of fear that accuses me of not glorifying God … and it brought no glory, only fear and condemnation.

I have since come to see that Paul’s comments about doing all to the glory of God had absolutely NOTHING to do with RESTRICTIONS, but instead had to do with LIFE and REALITY. WHATEVER you do, do all to the glory of God.

Whatever you do, do your work heartily (literal: from the soul), as for the Lord, RATHER THAN FOR MEN Colossians 3:23

If I had known that freedom when I was in Bible College I would not have feared those invisible eyes behind the windows that might make a report to the whole school of my failings. Let us do what we do FROM OUR VERY INNERMOST BEING and not be driven by fear from what others may think … or WHAT WE THINK others may think!

Love, Jim