Dishonor makes people nomadic – in churches, marriages, friendships, jobs. It makes them keep looking for a better deal. However, Biblical honor is the missing ingredient in broken relationships. But, we live in a dishonorable age where people say and post whatever they want, children talk back to their parents, leave churches, job hop. This flies in the face of God’s direct command that we “give preference to one another” with “honor” (Rom. 12:10). Yet true honor toward others doesn’t happen. It’s the fruit of salvation and a transformed heart. It flows from honoring Christ as we present ourselves as living sacrifices to Him. So, are you cultivating a spirit of honor in your heart toward God and those around you? Or, are you going to keep moving on from one relationship to another?

Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/68622894415d2d77bb98b1a1  

What if I told you that honor, real biblical honor, is the missing ingredient in many broken relationships and it's the key to healthy, long-lasting relationships. Our churches suffer without it. Families fracture without it. At the same time, society mocks honor. We live in one of the most dishonorable times in our country's history.

But Romans 12 10 says, in honor give preference to one another. In other words, honor one another above yourselves. Honor does not begin in the horizontal, it begins in the vertical with God. And the Bible makes it very clear that all true honor toward one another flows from honoring God. When we honor Him, there's this cascading effect to parents, to elders, to civil authorities, to spouses, to one another, and even to those who are not living honorably.

Because the Bible teaches us how to honor in all those relationships. So let me ask you this. Have you cultivated a spirit of honor in your heart for your home, for all those who are in authority over you even when they fail, do you have honor in your heart toward the aged, toward your leaders, toward your bosses, toward your church family, toward your government. But all of this comes from one place, the honor of God. It's actually a fruit of salvation and the transformed heart.

That is the headwaters of honor. All honor flows from there. All dishonor flows from dishonor toward God. Let's be a church that doesn't just say love one another. Let's be a church that honors one another.

Because when you honor others, you are honoring the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you honor Jesus Christ, He honors you. As 1 Samuel 2.30 says, those who honor me, I will honor. So what about a culture like that in the church? The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

Scripture applied as a production of Church and Family Life. Visit churchandfamilylife.com for more resources.