The Eternal Weight of Glory

Scripture places a high value on God’s glory, and it is not hard to figure out why. Since the inherent glory of the Lord is something that He will not share with others (Isa. 42:8), we know that His glory is something that He prizes highly; indeed, He prizes it more highly than anything else. We should therefore set the glory of God as the goal and overarching emphasis of our lives. Whatever we lose for the sake of making the Lord’s glory known will be worth it when we see the dazzling light and beauty of the divine glory (28:5; Rev. 21:23).

Glory has to do with light and beauty, but those aspects do not sum up what the Bible means when it speaks of the glory of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word kabod, which is translated into English as “glory,” has the root meaning of “weight” or “heaviness.” This offers a clue that glory has to do with weight, and this is confirmed by passages such as 2 Corinthians 4:17, which speaks of the “weight of glory.”

But when we speak of glory as having to do with weight or heaviness, what exactly do we mean? Essentially, we are talking about worth or value. Things of value are often measured by their weight, for example, precious gemstones such as diamonds. Scripture often speaks of the weight of precious metals when it is talking about prices or trying to measure generosity and wealth (Gen. 23:16; 24:22). So, glory and worth are correlative concepts. God has a glory that surpasses the glory of anything else in existence because He is of infinite value and worth.

So, when we are ascribing glory to God, we are ascribing worth to Him. We are telling others of His value and unsurpassed worth. This, in turn, should shape what we do in and for Him. Our worship should evidence great beauty and reverence, for the most worthy being deserves that kind of worship. The Lord’s perfections should be regularly on our lips, for if we truly value something, we will not fail to tell others about it. If God has infinite worth and value, we should speak of His marvelous character. Since we are to do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), we should have high standards for our work and for how we treat other people. To work and relate for the sake of the glory of God means doing things well and loving people rightly, for we are seeking to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the infinitely worthy One (Rom. 12:1–2).