The Bible makes it really clear that blessings flow into the lives of those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ and honor the authorities that God has placed in our lives. That begins with honoring your father and mother and it spins out into every other authority that God places in your life. But what the Bible says about honor assumes that people will, from time to time, fall into a spirit of dishonor toward one or more of the authorities that God has placed them under. So God has a plan for you when this happens to you. Authorities are going to disappoint those who are under them.

It's inevitable, it's unavoidable for leaders to experience dishonor from time to time. So what do you do when the person you're supposed to honor hasn't acted honorably? Romans 12 10 calls us into this radical life of honor in honor giving preference to one another. Romans 12 10. This is a supernatural capability that God gives as a result of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

But we live in a time where dishonor is the normal thing. Mockery is entertainment. Authority is questioned and it's rejected. But God calls his people to be very different, to create a culture of honor. So how do we honor those who have behaved dishonorably?

Here are some things to keep in mind. First of all, honor the position, not the behavior. We honor because God commands it. Even when the emperor is wicked, we are told, honor the king. That was a commandment for those who were living under Emperor Nero.

And the people of God were charged to honor the king. Number two, honor doesn't require obedience. Obedience is for children in their parents' household. Honor, though, is perpetual. Honor continues into adulthood.

Third, honor does not gossip, does not broadcast the authorities' failures, particularly your parents' failures. You don't take it to social media. You pray, you bless your parents. Number four, it's really important if your parents, particularly, are acting dishonorably in their own lives and it's affecting your family, it's affecting your children, What do you do? This is so difficult.

So number four, establish guardrails. Honor doesn't mean putting your family in harm's way to dishonorable parents. And you should just figure out how to be gracious without being naive. Figure out how to spend time with dishonorable parents in a way that you can control the context, the time, the things that happen. You know, do what you can to be a blessing to your parents.

Number five, choose forgiveness because bitterness is a poison. You don't want to be that person who's walking around for the rest of his life disappointed in everybody who's an authority over your life. Number six, when you can express care even when it's undeserved, This is what Christ has done. Even though he was reviled, he did not revile in return. He was cursed, but he blessed.

He was betrayed, but he still loved his disciples. So all of this is to mark out a roadmap for blessing. One more thing if you have parents that have been dishonorable and you're trying to figure out how to honor them, make a list, make a list of every possible thing you can think of that is honorable about them. There are honorable things about all people who are made in the image of God, try to find out every possible reason to give honor to your parents. Here's the bottom line.

God promises blessing to those who honor father and mother and I believe all the other authorities in their life, it will go well with you. God's promises are true. And when we learn how to live successfully under authorities who act dishonorably, the blessings flow into our lives. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Scripture applied as a production of Church and Family Life.

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