Honor

HONOR

 Dear brothers and sisters, HONOR those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 NLT

We live in a culture of dishonor, in a world where the value of honor has been lost.

What is not honor?

Honor is not to worship.
Worship is only for God; but, the Bible says we should honor one another.

What is honor?  

To honor is to have highly esteem someone, to value above, to give high worth, appreciate, respect, to thank, etc.

How do you honor someone?
We can honor with our words.
We can honor with our obedience.
We can honor with our service.
We can honor with our goods.

Who should we honor? 

We honor up towards God and towards our leaders and authorities.
We honor sideways towards the people that are at our same level of authority.

We honor down towards our disciples and the people under our care at work or school.

Is honor obligated or is it voluntary?
Honor must be voluntary and by revelation.

For example, you don’t buy your parents a pair of shoes only when they need them, but you do it to honor them, whether they need them or not, because you highly esteem them; and you value them because you are thankful.

Who is benefitted the most?  He who receives honor or the one who gives honor? What benefit does the one who honor receive?

The one who honors will receive a reward for honoring.

Example: The Bible says to honor your father and your mother so that it goes well for you and you have a long life.

Example: The Bible says to honor the Lord with  your goods and then your granaries will be filled (Prov. 3:9).

Time to Reflect:

Have you honored your authorities (parents, spouse, and leaders) or people you appreciate lately?
How can you honor them?
Is there something that stops you from showing honor?