Glory Hunger

by J.R. Vassar, Matt Chandler (Foreword)

Everyone wants to be significant. To a certain extent, this is natural and good, evidencing our God-given desire for meaning and purpose. However, our longing for significance can easily twist into an insatiable craving for approval, recognition, and praise--and, if left unchecked, this craving will enslave us. In Glory Hunger, pastor JR Vassar challenges Christians to reevaluate their priorities when it comes to leaving a legacy, pointing to the gospel as the key to freedom from the bondage of narcissism and insecurity. Addressing cultural obsessions such as physical beauty and the goal of cultivating a "perfect" digital reputation via social media, this book will help readers refocus on what really matters: living a life marked by the passionate pursuit of God's glory above all else.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Christian Living, Christianity, Nonfiction, Religion

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2015

About the author

J.R. Vassar is a Southern Baptist pastor based in Grapevine, TX, near Dallas. He graduated with honors from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2000, with a Masters in Theology.

JR published "What if or If God" in TableTalk Magazine in September 2011 and has written a book entitled Glory Hunger, set to be published and released by Crossway Books in early 2015.

Reviews

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey fellow Glory-thieves! This short book will provide you with a very biblical exhortation, encouragement and understanding that we are not created to pursue our own glory. The author does a wonderful job of helping the reader understand (or be reminded) that we were created for God's glory and because of sin, we are robbing God of the glory He and He alone deserves. I found the book to be very encouraging and, in a sense, a good companion to devotional time.

[Robb Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

So so

You know how when you watch a movie that turned out different than what what you expected from the trailer? This book is just that. The description of the book is more interesting than the book.

From a theology perspective, there is nothing new or interesting. I didn't like the use of the word glory-hunger. Perhaps it could've been glory-seeking. And it seems somewhat antithetical to suggest that the cure for seeking your own glory is to provide glory to others, particularly when the Bible teaches that we are not to seek glory for ourselves or others but only for God. (Psalms 115:1-3; 1 Cor. 10:31; 2 Sam. 12:14).

I also didn't like the last couple of chapters as they simply told stories and examples that had already been told. It seems like they were simply in the book to make it longer.

Just not my cup of tea.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book that I've read in a very long time. So good I am going to start it over again, it's not very often I do that. If this book does not make you stop and take a look at your life you may not be a Christian.

[Tj Tamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tremendous resource to help keep our glory hunger focused and utilized properly.

[Jake Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glory Hunger is an eye-opening reflection on our God-given hunger for glory that has been tainted by the Fall, and helps us to see the gospel of Jesus Christ with new eyes. In the book, JR Vassar, pastor of Church at the Cross in Grapevine, Texas, cautions us against pursuing our own tainted desire for glory, at the same time warning us against settling for a glory that is less than God's desire for us. We "have a smaller appetite for glory," Vassar writes, "than we originally thought."
Glory Hunger is a multi-layered book, with a rich biblical theology, blended with insightful illustrations, analogies, and inspired turns of phrases that give clarity to the deep and penetrating topic of glory. He begins with creation in Genesis 1, and follows the theme of glory through the Bible all the way to the new creation in Revelation 22 showing how we were created as glorious creatures, broken by our sinfulness and being restored by our glorious Lord. "We were made to hear the commendation of God spoken over us," he explains, "but we are condemned before God" as sinners. But the good news is that "at the cross, the only commendable one became the condemned one, so that the condemned ones could become the commendable ones." With this biblical reflection, Vassar is able to critique our worldly pursuit of glory and replace it with God's pure vision of glory.
On a personal level, this book has caused me to renew a dedication to squelch any desire to steal any glory from God. But more than just a call to self-debasement, Vassar has reminded me to pursue my God-given hunger for glory by serving both God and man to bring glory to them.
This is a must-read for all serious Christians. We struggle greatly in our complex, sin-tainted relationship with glory for which Glory Hunger brings a much-needed word of rebuke and encouragement.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

JR Vassar reveals a very specific aspect of the heart of man and where sin has brought us to. The concept of being glory hungry for our selves because of sin is spot on. Vassar brings to question the end goal of the gospel which at its core is close. To the best of my studies and with no glory required to me. John Piper hits to the heart much closer that the center of the Gospel is for Gods glory and his alone. I am not fully aligned that the end goal is for my glory to he revealed, though it will, on the day of salvation. Glory is for God alone. Glory for the father to return humanity to square one through Christ Jesus, on day one.

Great book. One of self reflection to cause us to see where we seek out glory over God's.

This one should be read many times over!

[Dylan Shelby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I potentially came into this book with unreasonable expectations about its content, thus the two stars.

I’m not sure who the intended audience is. I’m a Christian who believes that God is infinitely glorious and deserves my praise and acknowledgement of that glory. I also know that broken people, myself included, love to take glory for ourselves however we can get it. I was hoping this book would help me get to the roots of that and give me practical/spiritual help to overcome my desire for praise. Instead the book seemed to be trying to convince me that it is bad to seek my own glory, and instead I should seek Gods glory. This seems fairly obvious. The most helpful part of this book is the quotations from C.S. Lewis’s “The Weight of Glory”. I would recommend just reading that.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all are hungry for glory. The question, as Vassar expounds in great detail, is whose glory are we seeking? Vassar does a terrific job of proclaiming the gospel as he lays out our own sinful hearts and how they lead us to consume glory for ourselves. The solution to our glory hunger is to feast upon Jesus; to cherish Him who is most cherish-able. And in doing this it leads us to seek out glory for and from the Father and glory for others. Best read in one sitting, which unfortunately I did not do, as some of the ideas and phrases are best marinated together rather than apart.

[Blake A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glory from people or glory from God?

I love the challenge of this book to evaluate my heart and where I am seeking glory and recognition. Is it from the approval of people or of God? The world needs believers who lay aside self-promotion to seek the promotion of Jesus.

[Theron John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a good book. Some chapters were more intriguing than others and more engaging. Nevertheless, still a solid read!

[Jeannine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal, challenging... a call back to a different mindset

[Landen Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

The biggest takeaway is that in Christ, I have the affirmation I crave. Highly recommend

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vassar brings an interesting perspective to the spiritual challenge of human pride. Arguing that we were designed to be carriers of God's image, what we now see in vain glory-seeking is a convoluted from of man's original purpose.

The book is solid on many levels. I feel that each chapter has great content though there are moments I struggle to grasp how the narrative is moving to a crowing moment. The simple reminders from Vassar's vantage point - i.e., pride is the corruption of an original calling - is well worth the read.

[Michael Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there anything sinful about desiring significance in life, to be noticed, to rise to a level of accomplishment, or to seek a sense of meaning? Or are we to live a more monastic lifestyle in the shadows far from the spotlight? Furthermore, is there a godly balance that must be struck, one that recognizes reaching goals while at the same time understanding the true purpose of life? JR Vassar, in his excellent book Glory Hunger: God, the Gospel, and Our Quest for Something More analyzes these questions in a biblically sound and relevant manner.

Vassar aptly notes at the outset of this book that “we are hardwired to ascribe glory and praise to what we deem impressive…Giving glory is a natural human response to witnessing greatness, which is why our world is infatuated with celebrities.” I remember as a teenager being in awe of Michael Jordan and is seeming ability to defy gravity. Such physical feats were truly impressive resulting in much fame and notoriety for Michael Jordan. What kid did not desire at some point to “be like Mike”? Taken to an unhealthy extreme, such glory hunger and glory seeking can lead to idolatry.

I appreciated that Vassar begins his discussion of glory in the Garden of Eden. We find in Genesis that man is the pinnacle of God’s creation. In fact, humanity was made in the image of God meaning we reflect to some degree our Creator. We were created to have dominion over creation which means we were not created to sit on our hind ends and to achieve nothing of importance. God created us to be significant, to pursue a goal, and to find value in life. Vassar aptly comments that the very good of creation was impacted by sinful desires to wrongly seek glory in a way that placed the creation over the Creator. Furthermore, “the beauty we were made to reflect is obscured by our inner corruption.” We long for the day when that original construct of properly placed and understood glory will be restored.

Vassar spends the majority of this helpful book outlining areas where glory hunger gets out of control in our lives. In addressing these pitfalls, he provides the reader with the biblical perspective and response to dealing with glory seeking gone awry. For example, when the temptation arises to be narcissistic, Vassar saliently notes that God often uses “hard words to snap us back into reality by forcing us to contemplate the end of everything that would compete with God for glory.” When we glory in our athletic ability to the point where it becomes our baal (master/god), God can certainly provide us a quick reminder of the finite nature of our fragile bodies. Given time, our ability to hit that homerun or catch that football pass goes away. If our sense of belonging is found solely in those pursuits, we have a problem. If we use those God given abilities for His glory, then we have things in a proper perspective.

Ultimately, we are created to glorify God and He will not be denied the glory properly due His name. Vassar calls God’s people back to a place of seeking God and His glory rather than puffing up our own fame. In the closing chapter of this book, Vassar declares, “We need glory-hungry people who seek glory for others and not for themselves. This world needs men and women who love most what is most lovely, and who can fearlessly invite their neighbors to reorient their lives toward ultimate reality and move in step with the course of the universe.” Moving in step necessitates living a life that glorifies and seeks the glory of the Creator of that universe.

In a day when there is such a great deal of pride and personal glory seeking Vassar’s book is a needed corrective. Even within Christian circles there is the temptation to build one’s kingdom and to seek recognition and glory for instance in how popular your blog is or how many people read your latest post or how many books you sell or the size of your church membership. I highly recommend this book for all believers given we all need a reminder that God’s glory is what we should seek and in the course of our lives and reaching for the goals God has set for us. To God be the glory and to Him alone is all praise and honor!

I received this book for free from Crossway Books for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Michele Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite scene from one of my favorite movies is the moment when Anne Shirley learns that she has won the Avery Scholarship. Her fellow students pick her up, carrying her on their shoulders, and they laud her accomplishment with cheers! There’s something supremely satisfying about that kind of glory — better than a thousand clicks on any “like” button could ever be.

According to JR Vassar, my identification with that scene points to a condition all humans have shared since our kind first drew breath in Eden’s sweet garden. In our deepest hearts, we were made for glory. We are designed to value greatness, to respond to it in others. We want to possess greatness, and we want to be recognized and appreciated for it. Tragically fallen, however, our God-given response to glory has become a selfish, enslaving need. I want “a ‘yes’ spoken over me by everyone.”

This quest for “rogue glory” results in Christians who measure their worth by their Klout score or the number of re-tweets they can rack up in a day. “We are broken people looking to other broken people to fix our broken lives,” when something far greater is available: the glory that comes from God. This comes in the form of a verdict of fully-loved-and-completely-accepted, handed down from the highest court in the universe. With that foundation firmly in place through the gospel, the believer is free to:
1.Quit rolling the Sisyphean boulder of approval up Mount Expectation every day.
2.Renounce narcissistic concern over image management.

This freedom leads to priorities based on a clear view of reality. Hence, even a fallen creature can “love what is most lovely, value supremely what is supremely valuable, and glorify most what is most glorious.”

Chapters 1-4 of Glory Hunger set up the tragedy of this preoccupation with self, while chapters 5-8 shift the focus from diagnosis to treatment: what to do about “our affections, [which] tend to be disproportionate to the objects loved.” Vassar uses Scripture to showcase the ultimate worth of God, extracting practical guidelines for maintaining a right and reality-based view of a man’s or a woman’s identity and urging the reader to consider some ultimate questions:
1.What does the cross say about humanity? Before the cross, “we shrink to our true size,” says John Stott, and yet see evidence that we are loved and worthy before God.
2.What is the source of all blessing? A thankful heart is the sure antidote to competing with God for glory.
3.How important is human praise? The discipline of obscurity ensures that our righteousness is practiced before an audience of One.
4.Is ridicule worth the greater glory of following Jesus? Full-blast discipleship is costly in a culture that does not applaud radical devotion to holiness.

Vassar comes back to the gospel at every turn because the glory hunger that gnaws away in the heart will be legitimately satisfied only in pursuing glory for God and seeking approval from God. This satisfaction is borne out in a life characterized by service to others and concern for their glory rather than exploitation of others in greedy self-promotion. Glory Hunger is an invitation to die — to fall to the ground like seed and bear fruit, not in the limelight, but in the warm, life-giving glow of God’s approval.

This book was provided by Crossway in exchange for my unbiased review.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are all glory hungry creatures, we hunger for glory because we are made this way. God has made us to crave for Him, instead we would rather crave for something less than God.

JR Vassar shows us how we should live not for our own glory, but rather to live for God’s glory. First Vassar brings us to the beginning. He shows us how scriptures portrait the original picture to us. That Adam and Eve were made in God’s image to reflect God’s glory in the whole of creation. Yet this picture is quickly smashed, by the introduction of sin. Now instead of reflecting God’s glory, we want to be absorbed in glory. Yet, in our never-ending pursuit of glory, we are never filled, we are never satisfied, we will never feel secured despite how much we try to achieve.

Next, Vassar points us to the salvation God has provided. Only Jesus can put an end to our endless pursuit of self-glory. Our Saviour teaches us that life is not around us, rather he shows us what life should be, life that revolves around the Master of the world. Vassar then tell us to look to the cross to see what it says about us. It tell us that we are not as awesome as we often think we are. In fact, it tells us that we are sinners who constantly sin against our God, yet in His grace, he chooses to save us, by sending his Son to die for us on the cross. The cross is the mirror that deflates our inflated view of ourselves.

We live in the age that glorify the self, as such I would think that this book is good for any christian. It teaches us how Christ has told us to live our lives, to deny ourselves, take up our cross and to follow Him. Let’s live for something bigger than ourselves, let’s live for the One who created us, and for who all things live for.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Disclaimer: I was given this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Tanwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about our search for significance and the idol that comes along with it. This is a timely book to remind me that most of our quest for something more is mostly driven by our sinfulness and selfishness. Perfect book for me.

However, I found the book to be lacking that something. I'm not sure what. Maybe because it's a short book. At 130 pages, it could use another 80 pages I thought. I found that Vassar doesn't drill the issue deep enough. So every closing chapter I still find we are still scratching the surface. So does the book deliver on the promise? Yes and no. The content is good but it just doesn't go deep enough.

Oh I also need to mention that I thought the second last chapter of the book doesn't really fit into the overall theme. So it feels like a strange segway to me.

Saying that, what I love about this book is how it's always centred around Jesus and His gospel. Our glory hunger is actually a mean to point is back to Jesus, the one that is glorious. So in the end, I enjoyed the journey even though it was a short one.

4 out of 5

[Hank Pharis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great little book in which Vassar argues that "we are hardwired to ascribe glory and praise to what we deem impressive. ... Giving glory is a natural human response to witnessing greatness, which is why our world is infatuated with celebrities. We are addicted to greatness." (15) But "we must glorify most what is most glorious. We must love what is most lovely. We must value supremely what is supremely valuable." (61) Furthermore "Jesus came to win glory for us, securing a verdict and status over us with the Father than can satisfy our every pang of glory hunger. Having glory that comes from the ultimate person, we are set free from needing glory from anyone else." (65)

[Darren Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once heard a local pastor, preaching on Nehemiah, read through the list of workers in rebuilding the Jerusalem walls. He said, “Nobody wants to be the name on the list, they want to be Nehemiah.” How true that so many of us seek that acknowledgement, reward, and glory. Vassar shows how that distracts us from where we should seek that reward and glory--in and through our faith in God through Jesus Christ. If our minds and hearts are tuned toward doing everything for Him, all glory will be given to Him, and we’ll have found our eternal reward.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read. I felt like it told me the story of my life. The crazy thing is... I've been so blinded to my glory hunger, but it's been there as far back as I can remember. I so thankful Vassar has helped me see it and therefore has made a way for me to cry out to the Spirit to mortify my sin and live for God's Glory alone. Read this is you like the honor that comes from men too much.

Soli Deo Gloria

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome, relevant, well written, and readable. It doesn't bash a struggling believer. I think what I liked the most was the evidence that our mission for glory is inherent and sin misapplies or misdirects our search. What a relief. Simple conclusions are easy to remember to easy to apply to make change. Every Type "A" person and every overachiever should prayerfully bread this volume.

[Josh Tong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about our tendency to obsess over our own significance. Vassar did a great job explaining the theological roots of our desire for significance, highlighting where we get out of sync with the way the world works, and ultimately presenting a compelling way forward.

If you check this book out make sure you read the last chapter--it was paradigm shifting for me!

[Justindean · Rating 4 out of 5]

We must glorify what is most glorious, love what is most lovely, and value supremely what is supremely valuable. The only way out of thinking too much about our glory, loveliness, and value is to be captured by a vision of the glorious, lovely, supremely valuable God.

[Erin Straza · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read addressing our obsession with affirmation and attention. Well written, full of grace, super challenging.

[Ann Gemmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timely and convicting read. Succinct and deeply thought provoking. A tremendous perspective in our "selfie" culture.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wise teaching on true glory hunger for God's glory, our promised delight in him, & the call to draw others in to experience his glory with us.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great reminder to those of us in the ministry of the temptation to find our approval, value, and our glory in our people rather in our God.

[Jt]

Great reminder that I am nothing, but being used by God for His Kingdom. It is so important that we understand that God is good and He deserves the praise for all things.

[Julie Biles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do we desire approval and acceptance? Vassar beautifully explains that man is created in God's image, thus we truly are longing for an eternal glory. Fascinating!