This past week at Fireside Church, Jason shared with us a portion of his story and a connection to one of our daily Bible readings. Our focus chapter this week was 1 Timothy 5. In the passage, Paul specifically addresses how the widows and elders of the church should be treated. Jason expanded on that to explore what it means to honor someone.
What does honor look like?
First of all, honor is valuing someone else above yourself. Love is honor and honor is love; they are connected.
Honor is manifested in different ways. Sometimes honor comes with position or title; think about military members, presidents, or elderly people.
There is a cultural aspect of honor too. Jason's family is Japanese, and he highlighted the great value that that culture places on their family and the elderly.
Have you ever traveled to a different country? One specific way to show honor people in another culture is to eat their food without complaining about it and to try to get to know their culture.
Just as there are different honor systems in different cultures, you honor people differently depending on who they are and your relationship with them. We honor others by listening and being attentive and by showing gratitude. Disciplining your child is honoring them by valuing their growth and learning.
Honor also looks like letting someone else serve you. When we try to do it on our own and don't let someone help us, we are essentially saying that we don't need them. Not accepting a gift dishonors the giver.
1 Timothy 5 talked about some ways honor was being misplaced, specifically with widows. The practice of dishonor can be transferred down from generation to generation too.
A Dirty Dime's Worth
How much is an dime worth? Does its value change if it is old, dirty, or abused? Granted, if you put it through one of those machines that flattens it and imprints it with a different design, it’s value will change. But you could throw it in the dirt or run over it with your car and it would still be worth 10 cents.
In the same way, a person’s value doesn’t change if he or she is old, dirty or abused. Value doesn't come from age, or what has happened in life.
Your challenge this week
When someone places you in a position to be considered above themselves, a natural response is to want to honor them in return. Is God asking you to do something specific this week to honor someone else? Go forth and do it.