In the Bible, honor is of some major importance. Without it, Christianity wouldn't be all that different from the world. Why does honor matter so much in the Christian religion? Most of the time, preachers talk about the blood, cross, and resurrection. Every now and then, though, are the little matters discussed. And that's what I'll be doing now. We are going to be examining the different types of honors first. Basically, there are two types of honor that I will be talking about. First of all, there is the honor that deals with respect... Such as "Honor thy father and mother." When you respect them and obey them, you are honoring them with your obedience. When you do honor someone in this way, it is deference...a yielding or submission to another judgment. In today's society, honor is not quite normal. Most people only honor themselves (or their boss) and think only of me, me, me. Think about it..is it really easy to yield over your own judgment over to someone else? Sometimes it is, and other times, you can be a bit wary...but honor is important in the Bible's truth. (Later on we'll see how.) Right now, we'll look into the other kind of honor. John 12:26c says,"// any man serve me, him will my Father honour" Wait just a minute! Stop the press! What is this saying?! Is this saying that God is yielding to our judgment?! No way. To answer this, let's look at Prov. 20:3. It says, "It is an honor for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling." This honor is the same kind as in John 12:26c. What these verses are talking about is a honor that is a good name, public esteem, and recognition. Prov. 22.1 says, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" If you had a choice, which would you rather be?...A normal person living in a normal house, normal car, normal things as everyone else...and the city's most respected person....or a multimillionaire who is alone and unrespected? Well, friends are better than money (maybe because they last longer than money). Besides, what good is money if no one respects you for who you are? (Who you are..not what you are.) Living on this earth. Christians cannot be unrespectable and unnoticed. We are the light of the world, and it is up to us to set a good example in rhi? world. Next on the agenda, tht ui;ierc-nt honors, and what they are used in. First of all, Num. 22:17b says, "For I will promote thee unto great honour." In this verse. God isn't talking. Someone else is trying to bribe Balaam into something. (To find out what and how it ended, read Num. 23) He was trying to bribe him with a good name, recognition and public esteem. But, judging from the
verses, Balaam was a "Christian". When Balaam started to go with 'those people, God had to send an angel to stop him. Honor is very important in our Christian walk. We can honor God by obeying him, and our own name and recognition in this world must be a good one. Remember, our lives reflect Christ. If they see that we aren't quite up to the moral level that Christians stand on...than what difference will they see in our Saviour? Num. 22:8, 13, 18, 19, and 38 refer to where Balaam told them that he had the Lord, our God, as
his God! What honor is there in betraying what we stand for? "a good name is rather ic be chosen than great riches." (Prov. 22:1).
Now, a different way in which honor is used, is the law. Isa. 42:21 b says. "He \vii! magnify the law, and make it honorable." In this verse, God talks about making the law honorable. In that meaning, He is making i: