I couldn’t wait to get back to you all today. Words and ideas are making their way back around the dark corners in my brain, becoming familiar with their long lost surrounding once again. Like old friends meeting in an unexpected venue and chatting like they just saw each other. 🙂
Writer’s block was not my issue; I had a zillion things I wanted to say but no English words to convey them~ at least no English words that this girl associates with. Today, as I was going through my normal routine of working, dog playing, cleaning, laundry sorting, studying and watching 25 minutes (including commercials) of horrific plot lines on the Bold and the Beautiful, I kept wondering what you might want me to write about. After all, not everyone likes Jesus talk. Not everyone cares that my rescue dog is more gifted than most children. Not everyone thinks my first grandchild coming in June is epic. (Well, those of you who think that are just wrong.) The point is….it’s my blog. So, you’re kind of stuck reading about whatever is processing through my often confused logic and point of view. If I write about something that doesn’t interest you, you have a choice to leave and never return but I’m kind of like the Florida weather. If you’ll just wait a minute, I’ll change direction and you’ll probably find something to like.
So, today, I heard on the radio that we should examine the 3 people we honor most. Nope, you don’t get to gloss over that sentence…really consider who you honor the MOST. 
Who do you esteem, respect and admire?
Do you honor them with your time and respect or do you just honor them with no action or intention? We’ll get back to that but if you claim to honor someone and there’s no evidence, you don’t honor them. You might need to grab another 3 people…. and you might need a refresher on what honor is. This was really fascinating to me….
Honor is about placing other people’s needs before our own. It’s about choosing to lower ourselves to elevate others.
Doormat, you say? NO. We choose to honor because we want someone else to reach their next level and we’re willing to bow down a little (ok, yeah, maybe even a lot) to help them get there. So here’s an example…. my mom. I love this woman but she can be a tad incorrigible. She doesn’t accept suggestions with a welcome mat; she usually meets suggestions with an about face and a healthy dose of attitude. Even so, I honor her (or at least I sure try!). So honoring isn’t always a holiday at the beach; it tells us who we are…what we’re made of.
So, if honoring is elevating, dishonoring is placing people beneath you. Choosing to focus on your needs before theirs.
Has your list of 3 people you honor most been rocked by this news? You thought you honored people well and now maybe you’re thinking “not so much”.
Don’t be so hard on yourself; we can all change. If we’ve gotten in the habit of DIShonoring, surely we can get in the habit of honoring, right? We absolutely can! I used to be the Queen of Dishonor.
I like to take a peek at what the bible says about honoring because it’s a lot smarter than me….
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). God states no qualifier. He does not tell us to honor them only if they are honorable. Simply because they are our parents, we must treat them with respect. Boom! Doesn’t matter what they did or how they behave….place them above ourselves.
Wives should be honored. Peter admonishes, “Likewise you husbands, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). Doesn’t matter if she nags or is emotional or suffers from PMS 30 days of the month. Men are often experts at finding fault, at discovering what was not done just right or what didn’t quite meet his expectations. Try to find ways to praise, honor, encourage, and promote growth and joy in the hearts of your wives. Honor her and God will honor you.
All older people should be honored as well. Leviticus 19:32 commands, “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.” Again, God includes no reservations or qualifiers. There is such overlooked wisdom in the elderly here in our country; it makes me angry and sad at the same time. Until recently, I spent one day each week taking my husbands grandmother, a 94 year old sweetheart, to lunch. She shared her stories (often repeated) and I honored her with my time and attention.
We should honor our children, our husbands, our pastors, our leaders……We are to honor one another, but do we? If we are not, maybe it is a sign that we think too highly of ourselves and not highly enough of others. This is God’s way: The more we give, the more we receive. The more honor we give, the more honor we will also receive.
So I learned a lot about honor today. I am happy to say that the 3 people I honor most remained intact. I don’t always do it perfectly (that’s an understatement), but I get back up and never throw in the towel. I will honor God and I will do my best to honor you all the days of my life.
See you tomorrow.
Amy