Articles
Honoring
The life of a follower of God has always been one that demanded humility, if only for the fact we serve the all-powerful, all-knowing, and omnipresent God who created us and gave us life, and who continues to provide our daily needs, whether physical or spiritual. Serving God and, now under the New Testament, serving Jesus Christ has always demanded the servant [disciple] recognize the superiority of the Master [God or Jesus Christ] and the place of each in the relationship. God must be recognized as vastly superior and greater in every way and, consequently, mankind as lowly and unworthy.
It is this ability to recognize the worthiness of others to receive honor that must be a part of our lives, especially for believers, but it seems fewer and fewer people in the world would offer honor to whom honor is due and, sadly fewer believers, too. Sometimes, one may verbally acknowledge the need for honoring another, but then fail to do so because they (1) don’t understand what it means to honor, or (2) selfishly determine how they will honor or define it as they see fit, usually as a definition that conveniently agrees with their desires, rather than the one being honored. Maybe it is time to stop and consider what honoring means, as noted within Scripture, consider a few examples where honor is demanded by God, and then examine ourselves to see whether we are truly honoring as we should, or if we are just deceiving ourselves.
True Honor. The term is used in both the Old and New Testaments, and it is significant to note the places where God says honor should be given. But before we can consider who or what god says deserves our honor, we need to know what honor is. As used in Scripture, the Hebrew term means “honor which belongs or is shown to one; the honor which one has by reason of rank and state of office; deference, reverence” [Thayer’s]. Webster’s defines honor as “The esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation” and, “Reverence; veneration; or any act by which reverence and submission are expressed, as worship paid to the Supreme Being.” The modern Merriam-Webster Dictionary tells us it means “to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect.” I think we get the picture.
Let us note that for honor to be genuine, one must first value the one being ostensibly honored. If I see little value in an individual, I will not truly honor him; if I have little value in, or little regard for, government or any particular authority figure, I will likely not show honor to either. Before we insist that we are honoring someone, let us first be honest with self to see if we value them, and hold them in high esteem. It is simply not possible to honor others if we do not respect, admire, or value them — no matter how much we may say we do. Keep this in mind as we consider some God says deserve our honor.
God and Jesus Christ. If we recall that Thayer’s defined honor as “the honor which one has by reason of rank and state of office,” we would have to agree that God and Jesus Christ are deserving of the highest honor man could possibly offer, due to the fact “God created man” (Gen. 1:27). As our Creator and the one who holds our very lives in His hand (cf. Job 34:14, 15), he is worthy of the greatest honor. As one who “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), and demonstrated “His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8), He is worthy of the greatest admiration.
We demonstrate our high esteem of God and honor Him when we offer up our worship of Him, regularly singing songs of praise, adoration, and thankfulness for what He has done. But we can honor Him in other ways, too. The wise writer admonishes us, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase” (Prov. 3:9). If we truly think God is the greatest and best, then we would have no hesitation in giving our best to Him as a way of acknowledging His greatness, and He expects as much. The Israelites were commanded to give their firstfruits, indicating He was worthy to take first; they also had to give a tenth of all they had, indicating their value of Him was higher than they valued themselves, and also indicated their trust in His provision. Today, whatever worship or service we offer to the Lord should be our best, and in all we do for Him, He must be the priority over even self.
But let us not ignore the fact that honoring God also requires that we obey Him. When Nadab and Abihu offered the “profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them,” they “died before the Lord,” and He told Moses, “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified” (Lev. 10:1-3). The words “holy” and “glorified” both demand a measure of honor, and God was displeased with them because they had not obeyed; they disobeyed because they did not respect Him as they should have.
Government. As much as we complain about our government and government officials [mostly politicians], they are due respect because of the office. Peter admonished the early disciples, “Honor the king” (1 Pet. 2:17); it is no coincidence this followed the command to “submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good” (1 Pet. 2:13, 14). It should be clear that part of honoring our government is obeying its laws. In the context of addressing the place of government and our duty to it, Paul tells us plainly, “Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor” (Rom. 13:7). In case we wondered what that means, back up a few verses and consider that Paul commanded, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities…whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves” (Rom. 13:1, 2). Can we see that obedience to government and governing authorities demands our obedience? [Of course, this is limited to those directives that do not conflict with God’s will, cf. Acts 5:28, 29.]
But let us not overlook the fact that we must first value the office, and the government as a whole before we can truly give or show honor. I am afraid many Christians today have become so political that they have no respect for certain government officials simply because they belong to a certain political party, and it shows by the words that are used in everyday conversations and social media posts. Brethren, we must do better than the world!
Parents. The command given to the Israelites in the Ten Commandments was simple: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exod. 20:12). The command is reiterated by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (Eph. 6:2, 3), and it is no coincidence that this immediately follows a related command: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Eph. 6:1). Again, we find that obedience is one way we show honor, this time to our parents.
So, are we truly giving honor? Or are we deceiving ourselves? Brethren, “Honor to whom honor” is due! — Steven Harper
