Some people say we are living in an age of perpetual offense where people are looking for ways to feel offended. Well, here’s the good news for them, if you are looking to be offended, you will always find what you are looking for. It used to be that we only looked for these kinds of offenses from our elected leaders and public figures. If there was someone we didn’t like or disagreed with, we could usually find an opportunity to cut them down or cancel them, but now we are looking to cut down and cancel everyone.
If we don’t like what a teacher or coach says, let’s get them fired. We don’t like what a friend said or posted on facebook, we can silence or unfriend them on social media and in life. For the past decade or more, there have been articles that provide talking points on how to deal with family members who didn’t vote the way you did when you are all together for the holidays. Of course, some people just don’t invite “those family members” for the holidays.
It’s sad that we can’t simply disagree with one another anymore. Instead, we live in a culture where we work to disgrace those we disagree with or dismiss and destroy them. It is in to this very culture that God challenges His people to live a radically different life. It is into this “cancel” culture that God calls us to honor one another. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10.
Honor is an important and overlooked virtue that matters to God, and it begins our new series on true virtues. True virtues are attitudes and actions that ultimately that are important to God and make a positive difference in our life. Jesus was both honored and dishonored, and a great example of what both these things look like is found in the gospel of Mark.
In Mark 5, Jesus was approached by a Jewish leader named Jairus. Jarius begged Jesus to come and heal his daughter who was about to die. Jairus honored Jesus. He fell at Jesus' feet because he respected Jesus' power and authority. He may not have known everything there was to know about Jesus, and many religious leaders weren’t happy with Jesus and His teaching, and while we don’t know how Jarius felt, he honored Jesus. Jesus went with him and when they arrived, the girl had died, but Jesus raised her to life.
Immediately after this, Jesus returned to the town He grew up in, Nazareth. At first the people were thrilled to have their hometown boy home. News of Jesus’ miracles and power had spread through the entire region and the people were excited to see Him at first, but then things began to changed. Mark 6:2-6
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
The people were offended by Jesus. He was without honor and that Greek word is atimos. Atimos means to treat as ordinary or common. To all the people in Nazareth who watched Jesus grow up, He was ordinary. There was no great value or regard they had for Jesus because He was just the kid who grew up down the street from them. He was common and without honor.
The word time means to honor, to value and hold in high regard. It means to respect and to treat someone as precious. That is how Jairus treated Jesus. He saw the value and dignity in Jesus and respected Him. He knelt before Him. He honored Him.
So, dishonor finds offense and devalues people. It assumes the worst in others and seeks to tear them down. Honor sees the value in people, assumes the best and works to lift people up.
Honor also improves relationships because as we honor people, we make them more honorable. If we are constantly dishonoring others, if we are constantly tearing people down and finding fault with everything they do, not only do we become hard and bitter, but we make them angry and defensive. On the other hand, if we honor people, if we lift them up and highlight the value they have, then in time they become more honorable and so do we.
But, you might say that the person doesn’t deserve to be honored, that’s why we are so critical. There may be truth in that, but while respect is earned, honor is given. We are told to honor one another not because people have done honorable things but because we have all been created in the image of God. We are called to honor one another because we all have value and worth in the eyes of God. Honor doesn’t mean we have to agree with others, honor doesn’t mean we have to like or approve of what people do. Honor has more to do with how we treat people than how they treat us. In many ways honor is a reflection of our heart and mind and spirit.
While Romans 12 says we are to honor one another, there are four places where God calls us to specifically show honor.
1. God. You might have guessed this one. 3 of the first 10 Commandments tell us to honor God. We are to have no other God before Him because He is the highest and the greatest. There is no other God like our God. We are not to make any idols or images of God, and God is so holy that we are to even honor God’s name. We honor God simply because of who God is.
There is also not one right way to honor God, in fact, there are several ways we can honor God. We can honor God through our worship. Our songs of praise, our prayers, and our attention to God’s word are all ways we honor God. And in worship we don’t honor God with our lips, or by just going through the motions, we honor God with our hearts and lives. Honoring God through worship means allowing worship to touch our hearts and change our lives.
We also honor God in our giving. Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.
Giving honors God because God is the One who first gave. God first gave life in the creation of the world. Then God gave us life. Then God gave us all we need for life and for life to be good. Then God gave us Jesus to reconcile and forgive us when we turned away. We honor God by living the way God does and that includes our giving. In giving, we can honor God by giving our first and best. We can also honor God by giving a portion, or a tithe, of what we have. Sometimes we honor God by giving to others.
2. Parents. If we go back to the 10 Commandments, we again see that we are called to honor our father and mother. Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Honoring our parents is so important that it is the only command given with a promise. If we honor our parents, then God will honor us. Now let’s be clear, honoring our parents doesn’t mean submitting to abuse, and parents are also called to love and honor their children, but children of all ages need to learn what it looks like to honor their father and mother.
As parents age and their needs change, honor looks like offering care and support. When we are younger, honor means listening to and respecting the authority of our parents. It’s always a little troubling when parents are made to look like buffoons on TV and in movies. We need to return to a culture that honors parents, and if we do, maybe parents learn to love and give in ways that are honorable.
3. Those in Authority. In Romans 13, the Apostle Paul says specifically that we are to obey those in authority over us and give them honor. Remember that the Romans were oppressing Christians when Paul wrote this, but we still called for leaders to be honored. Looking around at our own country and culture, how are we doing with this?
This might be the one place where we see the most dishonor. I don’t know why anyone would want to run for any kind of public office. People will pick apart every word, statement, action and even perceived thoughts of a politician. It is a thankless job and if nothing else, we need to say thank you and honor them.
We are honored, and I do mean we are honored, to have some public servants as part of our congregation. A state representative, school board members, a previous mayor of Bellefonte, county commissioners, county workers and judges are all part of our congregation. I am so thankful for their willingness to jump into the chaos and criticism of public service and try to make a difference. We need to honor our leaders and maybe if we honor them more, even the ones we may not like and disagree with , they might become more honorable.
4. Pastors. The 4th area where the Bible says honor is due is to our spiritual leaders. The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5:17
Now I want to be clear that I am not sharing this because I think I need to be honored or deserve any kind of double honor. I have always been honored and valued by all of you and serving here continues to be one of the greatest blessings of my life. If we look at this passage as a command to honor all those in spiritual authority and leadership, then we might want to include all those who serve in the church. There are so many quiet, hidden people who serve in and through Faith Church that deserve honor and even double honor.
One group I think of right now are all those who serve in our media room and make sure I look and sound good both here and online. Our media team is the best and they do an amazing job, and many of these volunteers are youth. If you want to work with some amazing young people, talk with Justin and work with our media team, they deserve our honor.
And then there are the volunteers who work with our children and youth. We have some amazing and dedicated leaders in these areas and the work they do is so important. They are teaching the faith to children who are growing up in a culture that really is not Christian anymore.
I personally want to honor all the volunteers who will come this Friday night for the 5th quarter. Everyone has their areas of ministry they love and those that they really don’t love. As much as I love children and youth, the 5th quarter is just not my thing. I love that we host this ministry, and it is so vital in so many ways and the volunteers should receive double honor!
And then there is our mission team who are willing to reach out and serve those from our church but also those in our community. Just this past week I heard someone say that angels really do have names and 2 of them are Doug and Larry. These are two people who actively serve through our toolbox ministry, and there are so many more. You can serve with them during our mission work week and you will be honored working alongside them.
Then there are the women from our PQM who seldom see the love and encouragement that the work of their hands brings to others, but they faithfully use their gifts to help people. And how about our Sunday School teachers and small group leaders? Have you honored your leader in some way recently? And what about the crew that comes in each week to cut grass and the few people who weed our courtyard and flower beds.
Those are all people behind the scenes, but then there are some amazing people who offer their gifts of music and hospitality and leadership every Sunday. We have so many amazing leaders and while Paul highlighted those whose work is preaching and teaching, I want to offer double honor to all those who serve in a variety of ways to make the church and Faith Church what it is.
While these 4 areas are set aside for honor, God is clear that we are to honor one another and if we do, not only are they blessed, but so are we. As I said earlier, honoring our parents is the only one of the 10 Commandments that comes with a promise, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. But in all relationships, there is a blessing that is ours when we honor others.
Let’s go back to the stories of Jesus we heard from Mark. When Jarius honored Jesus and asked Him to heal his daughter, Jesus raised her back to life. When Jesus was in his hometown and was dishonored, it said He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
I don’t know why Jesus could not do any miracles because of the dishonor among the people, but He couldn’t. What we do know is that where there is no honor, there is no blessing. If we don’t honor God, then we don’t open the door for God to be involved in our lives. If we don’t honor our parents, the fabric of society begins to fall apart, and life isn’t as good as it can be. When we don’t honor our leaders, they begin to rule with a heavy hand instead of a loving heart and everyone struggles.
When we honor others, however, there is always a blessing. There is a blessing for us because honoring others makes us more faithful and more like Jesus. There is a blessing for others as they often grow into more honorable people, and then there is the blessing of stronger families and relationships.
If we look at our culture today and lament the criticism, condemnation, and cancellation we see all around us, maybe it’s because we are not honoring one another before ourselves. Living out this one virtue in all our relationships could have a domino effect that might bring a blessing our world needs. I want to invite you to join me in honoring one another. Specifically, find one person, or one group of people, that you want to honor this week and then let them know how valuable and loved they are. Hold them in high regard. Love them. Honor them.
Next Steps
True Virtue – Honor
Read Mark 5:21-6:6.
• How was Jesus both honored and dishonored?
• What impact did this honor and dishonor have on the people?
God calls us to honor in these 4 specific places:
God: Exodus 20:1-8. Proverbs 3:9
• How does our worship honor God?
• How can you show more honor to God?
• How can your giving honor God?
Parents: Exodus 20:12
• What does honor look like when parents are older?
• How can we teach children to honor parents?
• As a parent, how can you live a more honorable life?
Those in Authority: Romans 13:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-4
• Do you find it hard to honor leaders you disagree with?
• What would it look like to honor leaders you don’t like?
• This week, practice honor and pray for a leader you strongly disagree with.
• Find one way you can honor a local or state leader.
Those in Spiritual Authority: 1 Timothy 5:7
• Pastor Andy mentioned several groups of church volunteers who work hard behind the scenes:
media team, landscaping and mowing crew, prayer quilt ministry, children and youth ministry volunteers. Find a way you can honor one of these volunteers (or groups of volunteers) this week.
• Honor a church staff or volunteer who has made a difference in your life.
• Pray for Faith Church staff and volunteers this week.
