The Apostle Paul instructs us, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). We can glorify God in the smallest of actions—nothing is too insignificant. The big question we should ask ourselves is, Will we wait to live out our chief end?

Glory is a word associated with great accomplishments. Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi is quoted as saying, “The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then saying to the world, ‘No, I won’t stay here.’” Lombardi’s quote records a common but misdirected aim of seeking glory—for one’s own good and benefit. In this vein, we can define glory as “honor and respect gained by notable achievement.” The Westminster Shorter Catechism points us in an entirely different direction when it answers its first question, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” What is a chief end? What does it mean to glorify God? What does it mean to enjoy Him forever?

Aristotle has a helpful set of distinctions that enables us to understand what a chief end is. Think of a statue made from marble. The material cause of a statue is, of course, the block of marble from which the sculptor creates his work of art. The instrumental cause of the statue is the chisel, the instrument that the sculptor uses to bring the statue into existence. The efficient cause—that is, the cause that applies energy and work—is the sculptor. The final cause is the very purpose for which the statue was created. That is, the sculptor was commissioned by a wealthy patron to create a statue for display in his home. The final cause expresses the very reason for a thing’s existence. Philosophers have also made another observation about final causes: What is last in execution is first in intention. In this case, the sculptor gets the block of marble and takes it to his studio; he sketches his statue’s form on a piece of paper; he chisels for days, slowly revealing the statue’s form; and then last of all, he displays the statue in his patron’s home. The very last step of placing the statue in the patron’s home was the first intention—creating the statue was the impulse that launched the whole project. Final causes and the idea that what is last in execution is first in intention helps us answer the question of what a chief end is.

When the catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?,” it directs our minds to think about the very reason for our existence. What was first in God’s mind before the foundation of the world before He first formed Adam? When we gaze upon the creation and behold a beautiful sunrise, as it first illumines the skies with hues of purple, then red, and then bright yellow light, the different colors captivate our senses and fill us with joy and wonder. The psalmist captures these experiences when he writes: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Ps. 8:1). Again, the psalmist writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). Think back to the sculptor’s statue and ponder the artisanal skill of Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker. As we look at the striations in the subject’s calves, the curvature of his wrist, and the pensive expression on his face, we can see Rodin’s inspiring and skilled handiwork. The psalmist observes even greater handiwork in the creation as he marvels at the beauty of the heavens—the planets, the sun in all its brilliance, the moon, and the stars that shine so brightly.

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