I misunderstood Ephesians 1:11-14.
I originally understood the passage to teach that we have the privilege of praising God. This is true, however, a closer examination reveals that God is praised for saving us whether we have a heart of praise or not. Read for yourself, "11) We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will, 12) to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ. 13) In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14) who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:11-14 WEB).
This is great news for two reasons resulting in an important conclusion. First, our salvation does not hinge on having a constant positive attitude of praise toward God. Truth be told you can be angry as a hornet at God, have an attitude to match Archie Bunker himself, and have absolutely no praise for God and God is still praised for saving your wretched soul. I am not saying we should magnify the glory of God's grace by increasing our sin. But I am saying that even if our attitude is that God himself and the people in our lives are "meatheads," God is still praised for saving us.
Second, even when our attitudes are excellent, our praise is still tainted with the poison of sin. Though I have no plans to rid the shelves of my favorite Christian music CDs or cease my own efforts to serve the Lord, again truth be told even our best efforts, including our praise, are striped with the poisons of pride, ignorance, selfish ambition, greed, and the like. The verses above teach that God is praised for showing mercy to wretched sinners who did not deserve it and still do not deserve it.
God help us to welcome the lost to join a fellowship with Christ himself as our only hope! Praise be to God's glorious grace!
