It does not dishonor others
– 1 Corinthians 13:5
Honor is a container with two objects inside. Recognition and Response.
Recognition. In order to appropriately honor a person we must clearly understand who and what they are. We cannot honor a King if we do not understand that they are indeed a King The three wise men at the birth of Christ have the unique privilege of being able to honor Christ at his birth because they sought the information required to recognize him. They always had the capacity to respond but without recognition, honor goes unpaid.
Likewise we are tasked with the job of recognizing the people whose world we enter. The challenge to our sensibility is that the requirement upon us is (as the wise men did) to look beyond the obvious, beyond the circumstance and see the person, as God sees them. Every person you have ever met is created in the image of God. They are fiercely loved. Christ gave up everything in order to come to earth, for that person who just cut you off, that person who got the job you wanted. Like you, they have an innate value that we must learn to see.
It is worthy of reflection that it is impossible to see others clearly if our eyes are constantly set on ourselves. If we persist in seeing the world through the lens of us.
Response. Love and honor have this in common, they demand a response. Love that has no expression either verbal or practical is devoid of power and impact. Likewise, honor is only recognized as such when we actually communicate it. The three wise men bring an offering befitting a king. They not only recognized who Jesus was but they bestowed the gift of response.
When we truly recognize who people are we realize that our response must be tailored accordingly, it must be appropriate and it must be forthcoming. When we fail to recognize people, when we fail to respond, the bible calls this dishonor.
We are not those people, church. We are a people that honors and loves every single person that God see’s fit to bring into our world (or we into theirs). Let’s see them with unveiled eyes and respond church!
Much love
Stephen Hickson