Our society has lost sight of what it means to honor. Many times, we lose blessings because we do not know the principles of honor. There are prophecies that people have received, but they have not been fulfilled because these prophecies are subject to honor. In the previous verse, God was speaking strongly to priest Eli because he dishonored His name when he chose not to correct his sons, and instead allowed them to sin in the holy temple. Due to this dishonor, Eli’s priesthood was cut off. Today we will learn about what is honor and how we can honor the Lord.
1. Obedience: We honor God each time we obey Him. It’s not just about saying yes to everything, but about obeying each time we have to. When we are asked to stop practicing sin, yet we continue to do it that is dishonor. However, when we are told to go to a retreat, to church, to the House of Peace, to speak to others about Christ or to forgive and we do it, then we honor the Lord.
2. Praise and Worship: We honor the Heavenly Father when we praise and worship Him. We do this with our songs, actions, and when we acknowledge who He is and what He has done for us. For example, we honor the Lord when we say, “God you are great, good, powerful and merciful!” We honor Him when we value the time we have to praise and worship at church, and as we come in willingly to worship Him with thanksgiving.
3. With our words: We learn to honor God with our words when we make Him promises and we keep them! A person who does not keep their promise loses other’s trust. We dishonor God when we promise Him something and we do not fulfill it. So, watch your words and use them to honor Him.
4. With our thoughts: We can say a lot of things, but we can also dishonor the Lord with our thoughts. For example, Jesus knew that the Pharisees were dishonoring him with their thoughts (Luke 5:22). We need to watch what we are thinking, because we might show holiness in the outside, but in our thoughts, we might be sinning.
5. Excellence: We do not give God the worst nor our leftovers. Excellence will cost us three things: time, money and work; but many do the opposite. For example they say, “If I have time I will pray… If I have time I will serve… First I’m going to go to the movie theater or play and then I’ll go to church!” It’s better to put God first in all you do, and then you will see how He honors you too.
6. Service: We honor the Lord when we put our gifts and abilities to His service, while not expecting anything in return. We honor Him when we have a grateful heart because of all He has done in our lives.
7. Material goods: This is to give Him the best of our material goods and our best offering (according to what’s at our reach). “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10 NIV).
Think about it:
How have you been honoring God lately? According to the seven ways in which you can honor the Lord, which one of these do you need to improve?