I have recently completed reading Glory Hunger by J.R. Vassar. I had the privilege of seeing J.R. Vassar at a pastor’s conference in Jacksonville Florida. His book really hit the nail on the head and put a lot of things in perspective. We all have a desire or hunger for glory. If you say that you don’t, then you have just proven that you do. To say, “I am a humble person and I desire to give glory to God and not to myself”, is basically a prideful statement in and of itself. As a matter of fact, I purposely put a ‘glory hunger’ statement at the beginning of this article. Did you catch it? I mentioned that I saw J.R. Vassar at a pastor’s conference. By me making such a statement shows an inner desire to be identified with a well-known preacher and author. It was saying, “look at me, guess who I met.” Think about it. We seek glory for ourselves all of the time without even knowing it. Ever since I read Glory Hunger I have become more and more aware of the glory hunger in my own life, and it’s scary. Too often I will do and say things with the desire for man’s approval. I want people to think good of me. I want people to think I am a good pastor. I want people to say I am a good father and husband. I want to be chosen. I want to be included. I want to be popular. More often than not, I will find myself not saying or doing certain things because I know it will be unpopular. There are times when I have not responded to situations like I should have responded, simply because of the fear of backlash. This all comes from an inner desire for glory. This ‘glory hunger’ goes all the way back to the fall of man. Adam and Eve were created for the purpose of bringing glory to God. However, that purpose was corrupted when they chose to sin. Instead of bringing glory to God, they began to develop a desire to have glory for themselves. As J.R. Vassar tells us, there is a good glory hunger. We should have a hunger for the glory of God. We should desire to live lives that will bring glory to God. However, our corrupt sin nature hinders our pursuit for the glory of God and reverses it to a pursuit of glory for ourselves. We all have this problem. I would encourage you to make a mental note of every time this week that you say or do something out of a desire to make yourself look good. You will be amazed at how much you desire glory for yourself. Even in our Christian circles, we will say things, quote scriptures, write blogs 🙂 … but why? Is it not because we want people to see us as good and wise Christians? We post things on facebook that make us look spiritual. For what reason? Admit it. It makes you feel good to have a lot of ‘likes’ on facebook. it makes you feel important. It feeds your glory hunger. There are several things I pray for everyday, I have just added to that list, ‘Lord, forgive me for seeking glory for myself. Make me aware of my glory hunger today and show me how to channel that into a hunger for the glory of God.’ You know what, when you live in such a way, you will find that the stress of trying to please people will diminish. You will not care so much about what people think of you when you are focused on God’s glory and not your own. Glory Hunger by J.R. Vassar should be in the library of every believer. Do I sense a Glory Hunger sermon series coming? Stay tuned to find out.