Preferring God’s Glory
I … desire to see God glorified and myself forgotten … [Hence] the most efficient way to promote the greater glory of God, [and] to enter into his interests … [is] to forget one’s self. (OOCC, X, pp. 218 - 219; STA, 518)
In setting his priority, a Christian who is called to live the very life of God here on earth must prefer God and his glory rather than his own selfish interests. St. Vincent Pallotti often said that he wished to see God glorified and himself totally forgotten. According to him, the most effective means of promoting the greater glory of God was to enter into his interests. Entering into the interests of God and working for it implied that we should become his “business ambassadors.” In other words, the business of God becomes our own and our own interests become that of God. For St. Vincent, the very fact that we opted to make God’s interests our priority in life automatically implied that our interests are not more important than God’s interests. As a result, all our interests had to be viewed from the perspective of God’s interests and must serve his interests. St. Vincent believed that if a person lived this attitude, he would be able to give God the greatest glory. This was an endeavor he constantly attempted to undertake in his life.
Do I make the glorification of God my life’s task? Am I a real “business ambassador” for God? Have I made an option to make God’s interests my own, even if it means that I must give my interests a second place?
O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. (Ps. 63:1)