Honour.  In this day and age of dishonesty and deception, does it matter any more?  Does it even still exist?  Does it apply only to some people and some circumstances?  Or is it yet another victim of moral relativism (ie. okay for you, but not for me)?

What does honour even mean?  According to the dictionary, it has several meanings including:

                              1.      A good name; reputation; outward respect

                              2.      Privilege

                              3.      One who brings respect or fame

                              4.      Evidence of distinction

                              5.      Chastity, purity

                              6.      Integrity, reverence, deference

Most often today, we hear the word “honour� in the context of a marriage vow.  A husband and wife agree to love and honour each other the rest of their living days.  The words are easily spoken, but what is the couple really agreeing to do?  How can they honour each other within their marriage in a way that’s pleasing to God?

By the definition, they need to treat each other with respect; to help promote a good reputation for each other.  Criticizing their spouse to others does not bring honour to their marriage or to themselves.

They need to recognize that it is a privilege to be married to their spouse and work to make their marriage a treasured experience, not something taken for granted.  Others will honour the marriage if the spouses shows honour to each other.  God gives us clear instructions in the Bible: “Honour marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband� (Heb 13:4 ‘The Message’).  Keeping a marriage pure brings it honour.  Violating the honour and integrity of the marriage brings inevitable painful consequences.

Early on in the Bible, God commands us to “Honour your father and mother.....so that you may live long and that it may go well with you.�  (Deut 5:16).  As a parent, I expect my children to honour me with respect and to defer to my authority.  This seems contrary to what society on the whole seems to teach children these days.  It seems much more common for children to treat their parents with little or no outward respect, being caught up instead with having their way.  Children who are not taught to respect even their parents can hardly be expected to respect other adults.

We need to continue honouring our parents, even as adults.  This can be difficult if you don’t have a warm, open relationship with your parent.  But you can choose to recognize the positive traits in that individual, and honour them for those.

 Be aware of your own shortcomings and learn from them.

  “... humility comes before honour� (Prov 16:33).

We treat our friends and acquaintances with honour when we show them respect and integrity.  We build up their reputations by saying positive things about them, not by gossiping and criticizing them behind their backs.  We should strive to help give them “a  good name�

We are told to “Honour one another above yourselves� ( Romans 12:10) .

To truly do this, it would have to apply to every area of our lives.  Even our business dealings should be done with honour and integrity.  Building up your own  “good name� will only happen with consistent application of integrity and respect.

God even expects us to honour Him with our bodies (I Cor 6:20).  That’s because He created us and wants our bodies to act as “temples� for His Holy Spirit.  We can honour Him with our bodies by keeping them pure, not participating in sexual misconduct.  We need to try and stay healthy and not participate in self-destructive behaviour.

Above all, we need to treat God with honour.  This has to be with our hearts.    We need to reverence God and not use His name in vain.  His name was never meant to be a swear word!  We need to read the Bible and obey what it says.  Don’t just “talk the talk�, but “walk the walk�.  He will know if you are for real.

“These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.� (Isaiah 29:13)

Our world is full of lies and liars; scandals and scams.  We need to make honour a priority and try to live our lives right.  We need to recognize evil for evil and stop wasting any honour on that!  Remember...

“The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honoured among men.�  (Psalm 12:8b)

 

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