Building a culture of honor in the church is an important quality in strengthening the godly relationships we have in church. Rev Mark Poh expounds on this topic.
“Outdo one another in showing honor.” Romans 12:10b ESV
I grew up in a home where we were taught to honor and respect our elders. At every meal, we would wait until Dad and Mum got seated, then call out to them “Pa, Ma, ‘chiah’ (Hokkien: eat)” and if there were relatives around, I would have to call out, “Uncle, ‘chiah’… ” until every elder was greeted. When we became parents, Aye Lan and I continued this practice with Faithe, our daughter. She had a lot more ‘chiah’s to call out… my siblings, in-laws… It sounds funny, but this simple act of honor is important and significant for our generation and those after us.
When I became a Christian, I discovered that others had a certain view that Christianity would cause its believers to switch their allegiance to a “foreign god” and forsake honoring their parents. This could not be further from the truth. The God whom I know, has honoring parents at the top of His Commandments for loving others.
Why then would such a reputation exist? I believe it has much to do with how we live our lives especially with respect to how we interact with one another, our family, and people in authority. The expression of honor to one another is one of the most visible expressions of our faith to the world. How we treat God in our worship, and one another speaks of what we truly believe.
What is God’s instruction to us with regards to honor? What does the world see of us through our actions?
Let’s consider how we fare against God’s Word:
1. Honoring God
The Bible exhorts us many times to honor God. In Psalm 22:23, it says, “You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him! Revere Him, all you descendants of Israel!” The call is clear! We are to praise, honor and revere Him.
Isaiah 29:13 says, “The Lord says, ‘These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” Honor starts right in our hearts.
Are we punctual for church services? Are we waiting upon Him or is He waiting for us? How do we worship Him and listen to His Word? Are our minds on Him or are we drawn to our mobile devices?
A pre-believer will be impacted either positively or negatively by what he sees of how God’s children treat Him.
2. Honoring Parents
Exodus 20:12 says, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
So often, the opposite happens. The culture of honor toward parents has spiraled downward. I have personally seen teenagers and adults act disrespectfully toward their parents. This is no excuse if we claim to be Christ’s disciples.
Whether our parents are perfect or not, the Bible makes it clear that we are to honor them. What do the people around us see when we interact with our parents?
3. Honoring One Another
Romans 12:10 says, “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (NLT)
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (ESV)
Two things jump out: “delight” in honoring others above self; and “outdo” one another in showing honor. This is in contrary to the flesh. Our flesh looks inward at our needs first, and fights for our rights, but the one who moves in the Spirit puts others before self. It is to go out of one’s way to demonstrate honor to others whether they deserve it or not. It is not conditional on how the other person behaves. It is a choice we exercise in obedience to God’s Word. We choose to bless, encourage and delight them—anything that tells them that they are worthy of our time and effort.
4. Honoring Church Leaders
1 Timothy 5:17 tells us to show honor to those who have been placed as our spiritual overseers.
“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.”
What is double honor? What does this look like?
It means we put in double the effort to accord honor to our leaders. What you would do for someone whom you love, you will double that. Double honor does not depend on whether we approve of the individual or not, as long as they are placed over us as our leaders. Someone so wisely pointed out to me when I was a young Christian, “If you think that your leader is not doing well, don’t criticize, but pray for them and love them to greater heights.”
5. Honor Those in Authority
God, in His sovereignty, has placed people in positions of leadership. (Romans 13:1-7) Verse 7 states clearly:
“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.”
We thank God for our government, for they are known as one of the best in the world. As soon as they have been elected, God commands that we honor and respect them. The best way to do that is to pray for them and encourage them whenever we can.
I truly believe that when we begin to live out this culture of honor from an attitude of love and affection, the world will be in a better place to receive the Good News that we hope to share with them. (John 13:34-25)
Rev Mark Poh is currently the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Assembly of God. He graduated from the University of Waikato, New Zealand where he also received Jesus as his Lord and Savior in 1980. He served in the marketplace for 17 years before he was called into full-time ministry, joining the church as the Youth Pastor in 1999. He obtained his Masters of Theological Studies in 2005. Rev Mark Poh and his wife, Aye Lan is married for more than 35 years and they have a daughter, Faithe.
