What is honor? I looked it up in the dictionary, and there are many definitions. I am going to refer to two of them here.
- to worship
- High regard or great respect given, received, or enjoyed. To treat with deference and courtesy.
Honor God Almighty
First and foremost we are called to honor the Lord, which would mean to worship and praise Him. We can never praise Him enough for all He has done for us. He is God Almighty our Creator. Let us honor the Lord wholeheartedly. Without Him, we can do nothing. Honor the Lord with our words and life.
“Honor the Lord, all his people; those who obey him have all they need.” Psalm 34:9 GNT
Honor Your Parents
The 4th commandment is, “Honor your father and your mother.” This commandment has a promise with it.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” Exodus 20:12
We are called to honor them. They gave us life and the chance to receive eternal life with Jesus in Heaven. We are not called to honor them because they were perfect parents. We are called to respect them because they are our parents and God tells us to.
Honor Your Spouse
The last form of honor I will mention is honoring our spouses.
My spouse is the only human being that I made a promise to at the altar in a sacrament to honor and respect. I said at my wedding, before God and family and friends at the altar, “I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.” Whew…that is serious business.
Have you ever been with a group of men or women sitting around bashing their spouses, telling all their faults? Unfortunately, this happens quite often.
Oh how sad when the children hear those conversations about their father or mother. Little ears are always listening. It must hurt them so much to hear that type of talk of their parent whom they love.
And how do we speak directly with our spouse, with respect or contempt? It is healing to each spouse to hear words of affirmation directly, or when they overhear their spouse speaking positively about them to someone else. It brings joy to the soul. How uplifting when I hear couples speaking kindly to each other and about each other. It is sooo refreshing!
The Bible says, “Husbands, love your wives. Wives, respect your husbands.”
Maybe this Lent the gift of honor could be something we could work on. I have seen relationships get better working on this word of the Lord.
Let us bless one another with the gift of honor.
God bless you!
Mary Ann/Mother Hen
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