Glorifying God

The first question in the Westminster Confession is:

What is the chief end of man?

And the answer is:

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

And so I am learning that this is much deeper than I at first thought.

It seems easy to glorify God. To praise Him daily in all circumstances whether good or bad.

But at all times of the day? Am I glorifying Him in every thought, word, and deed?

I've even been thinking on my motivations for deeds. If I had to give one motivation for most of my good deeds, it would be to bless others. And while this may be a good motivation, I'm afraid it's not the best. You see, when I am looking to bless others, my heart may still be off the mark. What benefit is there to me for wanting to bless others? While I think my motivations are mostly pure, I'm wondering if I do not derive some benefit in blessing others--a good reputation, kind words, expressed appreciation, etc. And I admit some pride that comes from those things and some amount of self-gratification. There is some of ME in the equation.

Instead, I think my motivation in every thought, word and deed should be to glorify God. This is a huge paradigm shift for me. For if I am looking only for God's glory, then when the accolades do not come, when I am overlooked or unappreciated, then I can just trust the Lord that somehow He is getting glory--instead of wanting even some small part for myself.

Now how to live that out, that is another story. But I pray that the Lord will help me! For truly I cannot do it on my own! And may it be all for His glory!!