The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters. Psalm 24:1-2

King David begins this psalm with a proclamation: everything we see and everyone we meet was created by God, but the world itself should never be the object of worship.

It means we shouldn’t be worshiping celebrities, intellect, gifted people, social status, wealth, magnificent structures, Mother Nature, Father Time, or anything else we can see. It wasn’t made to be worshiped. They were all – including us – were made to glorify God.

If you’ve ever seen copies of George Frideric Handel’s compositions, you’ll immediately notice one thing. Throughout the arrangements, he’s written “to the Glory of God, to the Glory of God.” Even as he was writing it, he had to give God glory. But he also seemed to realize this: it would indeed be possible to worship something other than God.

When you’re tempted to keep the praise to yourself – as Handel probably had been tempted to do – smell the rose (in this case, praise) and then offer it up to God.