Honor

1-22-12

“What is man that you are mindful of him,” said the Psalmist (Psa. 8:4-5). “For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.” Crowned with glory and honor? How often do we feel like we are crowned with God’s glory and honor?

“Honor” is the currency of heaven, says Bill Johnson, of Bethel Church in Redding, California. He is saying that honor is the means God uses to convey His love for us and to affirm the value He has placed in us. There are many dictionary definitions of the verb to honor: to esteem, revere, hold in high respect, admire, worship, accept as valid, pay what’s due. The Bible says (Phil 2:3) “…in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Romans 12:9-10 puts it this way: “Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.

When we honor someone by esteeming them and giving them preference the way the Bible instructs, we convey God’s love for them. What is it we actually convey? The Old Testament word used most often for “honor” is kabod, which has root meanings like heaviness, weightiness, copiousness, splendor and even riches. Honor is associated Biblically with conveying something of substance and value—most of all the presence of God. God honors us by lovingly sharing the weight and value of His presence with us, and we honor others by focusing the weight of our presence—the fullness of our attention—affectionately on them.

Who are we to honor? Scripture says husbands are to honor their wives (1 Peter 3:7), wives are to respect their husbands (Eph 5:33), and children are to honor their parents (Fifth Commandment, Exodus 20:12). Indeed, we are to honor “all people” (1 Peter 2:17). Why? Because God placed something of great value, His own image (Gen. 1:26), in all people.

The world teaches that honor must be earned. In one sense that is real. For example, if we need to depend on someone, we want to know they’re reliable and trustworthy. We want to be convinced they are “honorable.” Soldiers don’t want to fight side by side with a dishonorable person. Yet God didn’t wait until we were dependable or honorable to extend His arm of salvation to us. To the contrary, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God so loved the world that He honored us and sent His Only Begotten Son to show us the Way to enter back into a correct, life-giving relationship with our Creator. God values us that much!

Similarly, when we honor someone, we convey what we value to them, even if they don’t seem to deserve it. To honor someone who doesn’t deserve honor is a way of preserving our values no matter who they are or what they do. It’s a way of saying their dishonoring behavior cannot change my honoring behavior. Their unlovingness will not succeed in robbing me of the love God has placed in me! In this way, we transfer our values to others, no matter whether they deserve it or not.

Thus honor is ultimately about protecting relationships. God preserved His relationship with His people by extending His love to us through Jesus. Yes, He makes the sun to shine and rain to fall on all people, but those who accept the atoning work of the Cross are able to enter into a much weightier, richer, more honoring relationship with their Creator, the very Source of their life. Nothing is more life-giving!

In the end, our ability to truly honor others comes from the Holy Spirit. Many of the qualities that adhere to honor are the same as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience or longsuffering, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In the flesh, we take offense over and over again, often when we know better and want to do better. But as we become more and more saturated with the presence of God’s Spirit, we acquire a weightiness in our own spirits fueled by God’s love that enables us to exercise self-control and to give honor where honor is really due!

The Bible also associates the word “honor” with “splendor” and “light.” The more we honor each other as the Bible instructs, the more we see and spread the glory of God to one another and the more God’s Great Glory covers the earth! People know us as Children of Light when we persevere to show them honor.