Skip to main content

Unabashed

             Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)

Honor (verb.) To regard with great respect; to fulfill an obligation or keep an agreement.

 How in the world do you honor people? Sometimes, I think we honor them with our presence. It’s not that we think so highly of them, but that we are bestowing upon them the honor of associating with us. But this sort of honor has two sides. On one side, a person given the honor to join a group may be encouraged or built up by the association. On the other side, the group might effectively pat itself on the back, or honor itself for the association. This is the “I took you from the gutter, and I can put  you back there, so show some gratitude” idea.

Some people seem to think we should honor one another with the equivalent of “participation trophies.” You’re here, you must be one of us, we’ll nod to show our approval, or we’ll give you a certificate to show you’re one of us. But again, that seems to be

Some people are easy to honor because they’ve done this, that, and the other, but the point is that you know what they’ve done. They’re Somebody. Part of that means that by associating with them, we’ve gained honor for ourselves. We’re with Somebody, which means we’re at least somebody.

But what this verse is suggesting is that we should be making Somebody out of everybody, even if they’re a nobody. In comparison, we should make ourselves “nobodies.”

How do we do this? The first step, of course, is prayer. Ask God to reveal what is honorable or lovely in that person. Then, pay attention. One of the things I noticed when I returned to Erie this spring is how much more impressive some people I’ve tended to overlook have become, and part of that was because of the example set by some of the folks in class, who have been unabashed in their honoring of others. That sounds like a good thing to be

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more