There has been an evident gap in the Body of Christ regarding the mastery of the culture of honor. A lot of God’s children do not honor people, they treat one another cheaply – and we need to quickly correct this, if we are to truly grow into a glorious, mature church. To start it all off, let us consider Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the church of Ephesus, he said, ‘Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth ’ (Ephesians 6:2-3). But this is the opposite of how believers are living today, they have allowed liberal ideals to steer them away from holding their biological parents in high esteem and valuing them to the best of their ability. God is a parent as well, the father of all, and it matters to Him how we treat our biological parents here on earth, respecting them and regarding their counsel. These are some of God’s principles to living a long life. Yes, you may eat well and keep active – but there is a law that superimposes all of these. This is where honor begins, in your home with your own parents. You cannot rush to show stout devotion and respect to your pastor and your bosses at work while failing to regard the ones who gave birth to you and sacrificed so much of themselves to bring you up. It does not matter who is right or wrong, never be the reason your parents are unhappy – acts of dishonor attract demonic activities into your life and you will begin to find that your affairs and successes are short circuited by an invisible force, no matter how hard you try. It is also very important to know that honor is not just lip-service and flattery, we are meant to show our honor with substance (Proverbs 3:9). Apostle Paul continues to say, ‘But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God’ (1 Timothy 5:4). There you have it, God is delighted when children repay their parents for all they have done, but today we have totally turned against this counsel and negatively labelled it as the infamous ‘black tax’ that none of us want anything to do with– remember: do not be conformed to the patters of this world, but be renewed to the Word of God and His wisdom!
The next requirement, is that children of God honor spiritual authority. ‘Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labour in the word and doctrine’ (1 Timothy 5:17); where the honor being spoken of refers to monetary value – this is what the Bible instructs. But today, children of God would rather see men of the world wealthy and channel all their finances towards them because they have placed little value on the work pastors do within the church. And it is important to honor with substance because by design, the human heart has an issue of dishonor, and giving of your substance trains your heart to fully submit to the authority you aim to come under in submission. After detailing his material struggles while doing the work of the ministry, the Apostle Paul said ‘…Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:17-19). Here we see that although honoring servants of God with substance is an earthly activity, it is well registered by God and carries heavenly rewards. This is what Apostle Paul wanted for the church. A seed can leave your hand but it will never leave your life; when you sponsor the gospel, it is still you who will get the crown, no one else!
Before you will be able to honor the next person, be it your manager at work, leader at church, brother or sister in Christ, you must first believe that you first, are an honorable person. The Holy Spirit has made his abode in you, and you carry the seed of God Himself, therefore you are worthy of honor and are fully capable to live a life of honor. Honor people around you who have played an important role in your life, express your gratitude and do not allow yourself to become familiar with the grace of God operating in another. An example of how easily familiarity creeps in without notice is shown by the sons of Abinadab, who lived with the ark of God in their house and had gotten used to it, forgetting and almost trivialising the power of God (2 Samuels 6). When the oxen carrying the ark of God shook, Uzzah let out his hand to hold the ark in place, and the anger of God rose against him and he was struck dead on the spot (v.7)! This is the danger of familiarity; you begin to play with serious matters and heavily compromise yourself. Train yourself to reject familiarity with the issues of God, His Word, His servants, His activities – this will ensure that your life continues on an upward trajectory. Child of God, be intentional about living a life of honor.
Prayer
Father, we thank You because You have made us highly valuable and honorable beings. You have deposited Your seed in us, making each of us partakers of the divine life and worthy of honor. We pray that we may never lose sight of Your grace that is at work in our parents, in our spiritual leaders, and in one another. At every point of familiarity, we pray for a fresh revelation – our lives will never be affected by dishonor ever again! In the name of Jesus, amen!
