Hopefully, you caught the last post, invited Jesus to take control of your life, and are now fully at peace. That should bring you to the next promise we need to consider, honor. Imagine you are invited to a social gathering and turn up in your best outfit, your makeup second to none. When you arrive, the host either ignores you or asks you to sit near the kitchen, where the food will pass by your shoulder to the main party. When you paid your makeup artist so much, you assumed you would have a seat in the front. So, of course, you are not happy that the expected honor is missing.
The above is a description of what many go through daily, at work, in the church, or even in their families. At your family meeting, everybody makes contributions that advance the agenda, but the moment you want to contribute, the atmosphere changes. People stop paying attention or even hiss. It is an indication that honor is missing in your life.
You are already painfully familiar with the various scenarios, and so we shall not need to give too many examples. Instead, we move on to the remedy that God gives us in His promises. They are all over the pages of the Bible, but because most believers do not read their Bibles, these promises are foreign to them.
Several Types of Honor
Before we delve into God’s remedies for when honor is missing in a person’s life, we must acknowledge that there are several types of honor. There is human honor, which, like everything human, does not last. It is temporary and requires constant personal effort to keep up the appearance. Such honor is not only exhausting, but is also accompanied by shame because smart people see through your efforts. Then they laugh at you, adding shame to the fact that honor is missing.
Such earthly honor is what Balak promised Balaam in Numbers 22.17. Although God gave Balaam a way of escape at the time, that prophet died a disgraceful death later. In the lives of leaders like Pharaoh, divine honor is missing, despite the abundance of gold in their palaces. You might recall the story of Nebuchadnezzar, the king who became an animal and ate grass for seven years.
In all such cases, honor is missing even in the face of luxury. We could go on, but it is sufficient to know that there is earthly honor and there is heavenly, or divine honor. Naturally, we are concerned about the honor that comes from God as part of His promises to us.
The Remedy for When Honor Is Missing in One’s Life
The first remedy against a situation in which honor is missing is to honor God. It is truly amazing how many Christians do not know that what you do for God is what He will do for you. They ignore God, then spend an entire night praying that God should remember them. What a joke! So if you find that honor is missing from your life, check how well you are honoring God. You will probably find that the last time somebody in the office cracked a joke about God, you laughed or remained silent. Start honoring God, and watch if the desired honor will not return to your life.
The second line of remedy is to serve Jesus. He said in John 12.26: “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him my Father will honor. (emphasis added). The Bible wrote it this way to indicate that the one who serves Jesus (and not another who may desire honor) is the one the Father will honor. Do you want to find the honor that is missing from your life? Serve Jesus. But serve Him, not with eye service but from the heart.
Honor Is Missing from The Proud Life
According to the Bible, the third remedy for a situation in which honor is missing is to humble yourself. Proverbs 18.12 says: Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility. You have to love the book of Proverbs; it says it like it is, with no beating about the bush.
Before you can have honor, you must learn humility. That life from which honor is missing must go to Humility Academy before he can recover his lost glory. That is why King David, in Psalm 119.71 appreciated God for afflicting him. He prayed, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” Now, review your Bible knowledge and see who has all three remedies for a life where honor is missing. That’s right, Jesus.
He was so humble, He took the cross and died. And no one honored God like Jesus. He served the purpose for which His Father sent Him to earth. So even though the Romans wanted His life to be one from which honor is missing, they failed woefully. He is today the epitome of honor, and so can you. Just imitate Jesus, and the best way to do that is to have Him inside of you. He then becomes the engine that drives everything you think, or say, or do.
Maranatha!
