The Chief End of God

Yesterday, I was posed a question in my reading, "What is the chief end of God"? 

This question was connected to the question, "what is the chief end of man"? The chief end of man, as the answer goes, "is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever". This question and answer comes from the first question and answer of the Westminster Confession of Faith. The question and answer are dealing with the point of man's existence. Man exists to glorify God and enjoy Him. God created man, so humanity would glorify Him and enjoy Him. Everything that we, as humans should do, is glory in God and enjoy Him. Yes, sin and the fall have really messed up the purpose of man. But none the less, man was created to glorify God and enjoy Him. 

So, if the point of man's existence is to glorify God and enjoy Him, what is the point of God? What is God's greatest and most important activity? Or to say it like the question does, "what is the chief end of God"? 

God's chief end is to glorify Himself and enjoy Himself above all else. That is the simple, yet profound answer for what is the chief end of God. 

This answer might seem selfish, sinful, and incorrect. We as humans, even as Christians, think God exists for us. We think God is solely focused on our lives. We think God cares the most about us. We think God loves us above all else. We, as humans, even as Christians, think that the chief end of God is us (either humans or His children). 

The problem is, if we were the chief end of God, we would then be God ourselves. If we were the chief end of God, He would be worshiping us, and we would have to worship ourselves. If we were the chief end of God, when we worship God, we would be worshiping an idol. 

For God to be God, His chief end must be Himself. For God to command us to worship Him, He must worship Himself above all else. For God to decree we give Him glory in everything, He must care about His own glory above all else. For God to tell us to love Him first, He must love Himself first. For God to be God, He must the greatest glory, the highest love, and the supreme being in desire, and that includes Himself on Himself. For God to be God, His chief end must be Himself. 

So, if the chief end of God, is to glory and enjoy Himself above all else. Our chief end as Christians must also be to glorify God and enjoy Him above all else. God sets the standard for our actions. God commands what he already does. God decrees what we must do, because He has already been doing it for eternity. The chief end of God is the same thing as the chief end of man. God's chief end and man's chief end, is to glorify and enjoy God forever. The real question is not what is our chief end, but are we fulfilling our chief end?