One of our values at the Junction Church Leicester & Loughborough is ‘Honour’. Recently, I’ve been challenged again about what it means to live honourably. It can be easy to think of honour and respect as being one and the same thing. However, they’re not. There is a difference. It’s subtle – but it’s huge. It’s like the heading of an airplane. Just 1 degree of difference can change the outcome of an entire journey by thousands of miles.
So what’s the difference? Well, the onus of respect is on what the recipient has earned. For example, someone who achieves sporting success earns respect by virtue of their hard work and effort. However, the onus of honour is on what the giver is prepared to pay in order to show honour to someone else.
Honour is not meritorious. And this latter point is THE difference between respect and honour. In other words, showing honour to others is not determined by whether others deserve to receive it or not. Honour is a reflection of the givers heart. It’s free to the recipient – but costly to the giver.
The implications of living honourably are pretty huge. It challenges us to live beyond mediocrity –and pay a price in order to keep our hearts right. It challenges us not to pander to blame & gossip. Those things are the very opposite of honour. Truth is, no-one thrives in a culture of dishonour. Interestingly, the one time Jesus ‘could do no miracles’ was in his home town of Nazareth. It wasn’t because the people there didn’t believe in miracles. The hindrance was caused by dishonour.
Honour chooses to speak well of other people. Ok, this isn’t always easy, especially when someone annoys or offends you! But that’s the price that honour pays. Honour is more than thanking God in a song. It’s even more than turning up to church on a Sunday morning. It’s a state of heart. It’s a way of life. It’s a price you pay.
Yet, honour delights God’s heart. It positions you for his favour in your life. The favour of God is far more valuable than any currency. Lets take up the ‘honour’ challenge – and do the honourable thing.
