Honor to Whom Honor is Due

 

My parents seemed to disagree about politics. Regardless who was the President; one of them was not happy about it. We heard many discussions about “respect the office even if you don’t like the man.” Honoring others in our house applied to any adult from any child.

What has happened to the concept of respecting or honoring others in our culture? Neither Presidents nor adults in general seem to get it and even within the home, it seems many parents don’t expect respect or honor from their children. Children who are not taught to respect the authority of their parents and perhaps even hear their parents disrespect other authorities over them are likely to have little or no respect for any authority when they are adults.

So, what does the Bible say about showing respect? Let’s look at four forms of government; self, family, church, and civil. We will start with what to do if we want to have self-respect  – not in a haughty way but honored by others so that our lives are peaceful and productive.

Proverbs 15:33 says, The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. And Proverbs 22:4, The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.

Humility seems to be a large part of our receiving honor. Out of respect for ourselves we will want what is good and right by being willing to be discerning and weighing the consequences of our actions. Humility is largely being willing to submit to God’s word and His ways because we know He is always right (not so with us). We know when we’ve done right by God and that is the wellspring of self-respect.

If we move to the family, the Bible is clear that children are to honor their fathers and mothers (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16). Also, wives are to respect their husbands and husbands are to love their wives as they love themselves (Ephesians 5:33). Fathers are even to show a certain level of respect to their children as they are commanded not to provoke their children to anger (Ephesians 6:4).

Day in and day out giving this honor that we owe requires humility and self-control. Obviously, within the family this does not mean coddling but telling the truth (not to be confused with cuddling in the family which is always good). Children, husbands, wives, and parents cannot be allowed to commit sin and not be corrected. Honor is honest, honor is just, and honor is a way to show that we care about the soul more than the feelings.

Within the Church we are also told that Pastors and elders are to receive honor. Interestingly, this verse is specific about which ones – those “who rule well.” 1 Timothy 5:17  Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. Most Christians embrace this because they have seen the harm that comes from the power hungry, unbiblical, selfish, cowardly, or foolish elder.

But, when we get to the civil government we interpret Romans 13:1-7 that we must “honor” (and most would say that includes obeying) our government no matter what they require of us. But, these verses have a similar restriction as they define the government authorities as “God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:4) and “ministers of God” (Romans 13:6).

Like all other areas of life, we must give honor where honor is due. However, if the one over us is not doing us good but instead is a minister of what is evil, then our honor needs to be shown in the same way we would show it to anyone else, with concern for their souls letting them know how they are working against God.  How else are we to interpret Ephesians 5:11?  “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them…”

This may require some civil disobedience. There are plenty of examples of this in the Bible. Read the stories of Ehud who killed an evil King (Judges 3), Elijah (1 Kings 18) who stood firmly against the prophets of Baal deliberately insulting King Ahab, and even how John the Baptist confronted King Herod (Matthew 14) for taking his brother’s wife. Each incident is very different but each time godly men were standing against wicked rulers.

As our own culture is declining because of the failure to practice biblical principles, shouldn’t we be speaking the truth to those in authority over us? Burning, looting, and killing are responding to evil with evil. How can we take a stand against all that is evil without committing evil ourselves?

Many of us will disagree over who is in office and how we should honor that person. But, God’s Word sets a standard for good and evil and that is the standard we must use to determine who to honor with our obedience and who to honor with our rebukes.