Why did God create man? Did he create man to worship and glorify Him?
God did not create man to worship and glorify Him; for God does not need any glorification or worship from man. Before creating man, God was glorified and worshipped by the angels and even then He was not in need of being glorified by the angels. He is glorified by His own attributes.
God lacks nothing to acquire from His creation whether man or angel.
How true this is expressed in the Mass written by St. Gregory, in which man prays to God, saying,
“you were not in need of my servitude, but it is I who am in need of Your Lordship.”
Why then did God create man?
God created man out of His goodness and munificence, in order to make man enjoy existence.
Before creation, God was alone. Since eternity He was the only being in existence and had satisfaction in Himself. It was possible that man does not exist nor any other creature, but God out of His munificence and goodness granted existence to this nothingness which He called man. He created man to enjoy existence.
Creating man was then for the benefit of man himself not for the benefit of God. He created man to enjoy life and if he behaves well he will also enjoy eternity.
The same can be said regarding angels. God was so bountiful that He made us part of existence which He would have been alone in it. It is impossible that God created man because He desired to be glorified by that man or any other creation.
When we glorify God, it is we, not God, who benefit.
We benefit because when we mention God’s name and give glory to Him, we raise our hearts to a spiritual level which gives our hearts elevation, purity and closeness to the Godhead. We need always to contemplate on God and glorify Him; for by this our spirits feel connected to this great God who has all such glory and this gives us comfort.
Therefore we say, “It is I who am in need of Your Lordship.”
On the other hand, God – theologically speaking – does not increase or decrease in greatness. Nothing is added to Him when we glorify Him and He lacks nothing when we do not.
I can say that God created us out of His love for us as His pleasure is in the human beings.
God loved us before we existed and that is why He brought us into existence.
But what do the words “loved us before we existed” mean?
This reminds me of what I wrote in my notebook in 1957 as far as I remember, I wrote: “I have a relation, O Lord with you which began since eternity and will continue for ever. Yes, I dare say it began since eternity! I mean since eternity when I was in Your mind a thought and in Your heart a pleasure.”
