To honor means to esteem highly, to value, to believe to be worthy of a great price and valuable.
God has been talking to me a lot lately about honor. It began when I felt He was leading me to do something big for someone, something that would take great faith on my part.
Because this was a ‘hard’ thing in my mind, I had spent a great deal of time praying about it and seeking God about it. One day, in that still small voice, He spoke to me and simply said ‘if you will honor her, I will honor you.’
The Bible has a great deal to say about honor. The very first command with a promise is about honor. It is found in Deuteronomy 5:16, which says; Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
It hurts my heart these days when I see people disrespecting their parents. Not only does it hurt their parents, but it is detrimental to them as well. Honoring our parents affects our life on this earth, our health and even the land/ destiny, God has for us. It is vital we honor our mother and father. And God does not give a time limit for that instruction.
His word does not say we must honor them as long as we live in their homes, no, we must honor them as long as we live, regardless of our age or theirs. If you want to live long and live well, honor your parents.
Honor is a gift we give freely. Just as the Bible says ‘what we sow, we will reap.’ Therefore if we sow honor, we will reap honor.
The Bible additionally instructs us to honor those who are leaders over us. John Bevere has a great teaching on this subject. He shares how we are to honor those over us even when we don’t agree with them. There is tremendous power in honoring others.
1 Timothy 5:17 says those who work in the ministry, teaching the word of God and preaching are worthy of double honor. When we honor those over us spiritually, when we esteem them and value them, we will in turn become valuable to them as well, it is the principal of sowing and reaping.
I know in our ministry, our readers and especially our partners are of great value to us. We will happily go out of our way to minister to their needs or make time for them when needed. Why? Because we desire to honor them, they are valuable to us and we want them to know how valuable they are.
Romans 12:10 in the English Standard Version says; Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Doesn’t that verse simplify everything? Outdo one another in showing honor.
Do you have people in your life who are valuable to you? Who help you in some way? If so, honor them. Those who take care of your children while you work…they are valuable, honor them. Those who work for you, honor them. Those whom you work for…honor them for the value they bring to your life.
Those who stay in the word of God diligently to bring you a word each week, what great value that is! Honor them, let them know how much it means to you.
And do not forget your mother and father, honor them today, so that your life will be long and things will go well with you, as you enter into the promises God has for you, as you enter into YOUR promised land.
Lift up those who are valuable to you. Encourage them. Honor them, value them and then demonstrate it by your actions. Today, make it an point to…outdo one another with acts of honor.
Prayer for today: Father, help me to always honor those who are valuable to me. Open my eyes to see the people around me who bring value to my life and then show me ways I can honor them. Help me to demonstrate to them how valuable they are to me. This I ask in Jesus name. Amen.
