HONOR

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.

(Revelations 4:11, NKJV) 

Honor is not a quality that we hear much of despite the fact that we are reminded to honor God and to honor other people.  Honor is a character quality of knowing and doing what is morally right and involves ascribing esteem and respect to the object or individual of one’s honor.  When we honor, we are confirming that we have considered the person worthy in our hearts.  Honor involves respect, a sense of awe and submission and when we choose to honor someone, we are careful not to act contrary to the authority of the individual.  Our desire and commitment in expressing our honor is to please the authority of our honor through actions and not just words.

Our reference verse above starts with acknowledging that since God is the creator of all things that exist, He is worthy to receive all glory, honor and power.  He alone is the creator while all else is His creation.  This places God in an elevated position which none can compare with and our response can be no other but to honor Him as worthy, all by Himself.  He does not share this glory or honor with another (Isaiah 42:8).  This uniquely positions God as worthy of all that we can offer, He is above us and all of creation, we bow to Him and give Him our worship.

Brethren, it is God’s desire that we honor Him, reverence His Name and character.  We do this by acknowledging Him, so that we do His will.  Many speak of the greatness of God, yet their actions do not measure up to the leading of His word.  The bible reminds us that the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked, so that none can understand it (Jeremiah 17:9).  This means that we cannot tell who is honoring God just by speech which at times is meant to please the hearers, while the individual’s actions are different.  One’s actions are motivated by the convictions of the heart and therefore reflect what the heart carries.  Jesus said that not everyone who calls Him Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 7:21-23); but only those who do the will of His Father.  The operative word is DO, what we do is what communicates what is in our hearts.  Beloved, we do not honor and worship God just to please others or to belong, but because He is worthy.  Someone once said that we are truly ourselves when there is no one around us and the individual’s challenge is to honor God in the integrity of the heart, remembering that honor is not by lip service, which is flattery when our hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13).  Honor is not what you show but it is what you sow, (Prov 3:9) is a common verse which reminds us to honor God with what He has given us as possessions.  Beloved, God honors His word and promises to us as His children, let us in turn be like Him and honor Him deliberately and extravagantly in all areas of our lives.

Thoughts:

What are your thoughts on this topic of honor?

How are you honoring God?

Are there areas of your life where you are not honoring God?