Make Sure You Have Acted Honorably

Today’s Bible readings are Judges 8:18-9:21, Luke 23:44-24:12, Psalm 99:1-9, & Proverbs 14:9-10

 

Judges 9:16

¹⁶ Jotham continued, “Now make sure you have acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelech your king, and that you have done right by Gideon and all of his descendants. Have you treated him with the honor he deserves for all he accomplished?

Gideon was a man who risked his life to bring freedom to this people. He fought for them as a mighty warrior empowered by the Holy Spirit. God did great exploits through him. Great victory was brought to the people as a result of Gideon’s obedience to the God.

Honor is a big thing to God. It matters to Him in ways that we often don’t realize. We so many times are people who pay no mind to honor, but God is a God of honor.

Revelation 4:11

¹¹ “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

 

1 Samuel 2:30

³⁰ “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.

Deuteronomy 5:16

¹⁶ “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

1 Timothy 5:17-18

¹⁷ The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

Romans 12:10

¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Romans 13:7

⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

All this talk about honor leads me too place where I think it is important to define what honor is.

Honor:  to esteem, respect, revere, place value on something

Honor is a spiritual thing. It flows out of humility. It is a result of us having gratitude in our hearts. It leads to us being honored. Some people always complain about being dishonored. It is usually because they dishonor others that they should be honoring. The law of sowing & reaping plays a huge part in honor. When we sow honor, we receive honor. When we sow dishonor, we receive dishonor.

I have learned that going to church is on the best ways for me to honor God. There are other things that a person could do on a Sunday. Some of those things may even seem more fun to do. Yet, I know that honor God matters. That is why I choose to put Him first. It shows value when He is placed above my wants.

The other thing that is important to remember about going to church is that there are others there who need you. There is ministry that needs to be done. There are children that need to be taught. There are people who need to be prayed for. There are new comers who need to be greeted. To show honor to these individuals is to put their needs ahead of mine. When I make this step to honor others, God will make sure that I am honored. He will bless me.

Our culture today is losing this emphasis on honor. I sat & talked to an elder lady who is caring for her husband who is nearing his last days. As we talked, she said many things that made me realize that we need to place a greater emphasis on honor. Honoring God matters! Honoring our spouses matter! Honoring each other matters!

My prayer today is that honor would once again begin to take a greater place in all of our lives. I pray in Jesus name that each of us would put a greater focus on honor God, our parents, our spouses, our families, our leaders, & each other. Let our cry today be: 

“Give us clean hands, give us pure hearts, oh Spirit come make us humble.”

Pastor Richard Schlotter