Romans 12:10b – Outdo one another in showing honor.
Would you say our culture is very good at honoring each other? It seems that our culture makes the rebel the hero and America was literally founded on rebellion.
As we’ve seen throughout the book Romans, and the entire Bible, God’s way is completely different than the world’s way.
A few years ago, there was a conference of pastors that I had the honor of speaking at on a few occasions. Different Christians have different tribes and become suspicious of other tribes, even if all parties involved do love Jesus. It’s not right because we’re all on Team Jesus.
This particular year, a well-known, evangelical leader was invited to speak from “outside the tribe”. So, immediately there was suspicion from attendees of the conference on whether his doctrine was right and if he had spiritual authority to speak.
On the day of the event, he cancelled his flight and said he couldn’t make the event and would need to do it via video. And this was long before we had all accepted Zoom into our hearts.
Immediately, there was an uproar and a speculation of his motive. He was immediately called a heretic, a false teacher, and it was suspected he just didn’t want to come because he was “afraid” or “too good”.
A few years later, this pastor’s son killed himself. Come to find out, his son had been suffering from severe depression for his entire life and, oftentimes, the pastor would need to cancel a trip last minute. Not because he was haughty or superior, but because he was literally on suicide watch for his son and said he couldn’t stand the thought if something happened while he was gone.
After that time, I talked with one of the leaders who was spearheading the charge against this pastor, and I asked him if he felt any remorse now that he knew the truth. He replied that the attendees of these conferences should’ve been told what was going on. I responded to him that, if it’s someone who loves Jesus, we should honor them rather than assuming the worst. We’re all fighting a silent battle of some sort or kind and it’s not appropriate for everyone to know the details, but we should honor each other the way we would want to be honored in a similar circumstance.
Ultimately, if you dishonor authority, you’re sawing off the limb you sit on to exercise your own authority. From your boss to your spouse to your leaders, if you dishonor, chaos ensues. But, if you honor, you bring the Kingdom of God down into your life and family.
How can you better honor others in your life whether it be your spouse, leaders, friends, or someone else?
To find the free Romans 12-16 digital study guide for individuals and small groups, hear Pastor Mark’s entire sermon series on Romans, or find a free mountain of Bible teaching visit realfaith.com or download the Real Faith app.