"Honor vs. Disrespect"--Authority

Honor vs. Disrespect Meditation Commentary

Honor is humbling myself in the presence of a God-given authority and expressing my devotion with an appropriate gift.

“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”  —Psalm 95:6-7

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.” —Hebrews 13:17-18

            Honor is an undervalued concept in our culture.  Other cultures often have more esteem for the concept of honor than we as Americans do.  It has to do with respect and reverence, which are often not concepts that care-free and easy-going, tolerant Americans like to think about.  We do have some idea of what it is all about.  When we put our hand over our hearts and say the Pledge of Allegiance, we are showing honor for our country.  When we have a moment of silence for those who have died in battle, we show honor for their sacrifice.  When we clap or stand for a well-known speaker we show honor for his position.  When we give up a better seat on the bus for an elderly person or a lady, we show honor for age or femininity.  Some of these things are still lightly esteemed.  Acknowledging and recognizing authority, however, can restore a glorious understanding of honor to the way we interact with people.  

If we acknowledge God’s authority, and the authority of His Word in the Bible, we will give Him and His Word due respect and honor.  We will esteem those things that have to do with Him or His Word in a higher fashion than we may treat a comic book, psychology newsletter, or Buddha statue.  We show honor to God and His Word in many different ways than simply physical like standing for the reading of the Word in church, or putting it in an exalted place.  A Muslim friend of mine was surprised to see a Bible on the dashboard of a truck, and mentioned that Christians treat what they claim is the Word of God with so much more disrespect than Muslims do the Koran.  My friend who owned the truck explained that he did honor the Word of God, but he honored it by doing what it said, rather than showing reverence for the actual ink and paper.  Honor involves showing value by respecting the gravity and authenticity of authority.  We honor God by doing what He says.  The same goes for the authority of other things.  If we acknowledge the authority of our country’s leaders, our parents, our employers, our teachers, or even of other people, we will honor them, and honor those the authorities command to honor.   Of course, there is a hierarchy of order.  Honor for God comes before honor for any other authority.  But if we really honor God, we will also honor those He commands us to honor, which includes everyone around us.  (Eph. 5:21)