Honor

By Giscelle Rosario

If you’re like me, when you hear the word honor you immediately think of Exodus 20, Commandment number 5 out of 10 which says, “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” But rest assured, honor isn’t just present in a child-to-parent relationship but should be exercised in every area of our lives. Anyone who is placed in a position of authority over your life whether that be your boss, your teacher, your parents, your pastor, your coach or supervisor should be treated with honor. 

The wonderful thing about honor is that where there is honor there is a commanded blessing. God promises the Israelites that in honoring their parents, they would get to live and flourish in the promised land. When you honor people in authority, you will live a prosperous life. 

To find out why, let’s look at the life of King David. The thing about King David is that he’s often called “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). David, of course, is also known for the many beautiful Psalms he wrote. You know, as songwriters, we can get so caught up in studying the Psalms and forget to study the life of the man who wrote them. It wasn’t just the songs that David wrote that wooed the heart of the Lord. It was the way David lived and breathed a life of honor. 

Hopefully you’re familiar with the story, but if not I’ll try to give a brief summary. In the book of 1 Samuel, we find the famous story of David killing Goliath and helping the Israelites defeat the powerful Philistine army. Well, news of David’s triumph spread throughout Israel and many of the Israelites were singing his praises. This made King Saul, who was ruler over Israel at the time, quite jealous. He recognized the anointing that David had on his life and felt that threatened his position of power. Eventually, he tried to have David killed which sent David on the run. While on the run, David found himself in a position to kill Saul in return, thus securing his own life. But David refused. In 1 Samuel 24:6 David says,

“The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.”

And again, when presented with a second opportunity to kill Saul and to live his life as a free man instead of a wanted fugitive, David told his men,

“Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed!” (1 Sam. 26:9-10) 

Why wouldn’t David kill Saul? It’s because he was a man of honor. David didn’t honor Saul because Saul was a good King, good leader, or even a good man. David honored Saul because he was God’s anointed one. Saul was the one that God chose to be in a position of authority over David and all of Israel. You see, in refusing to kill him, David wasn’t just honoring Saul. He was honoring the authority given to Saul by God and by extension was honoring God as the sovereign Author of his life. In Romans 13:1 the Apostle Paul tells us,

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.”

Yes, even the leaders you disagree with; even those in authority who have abused you; even those who are ill-equipped to do the job that they have been given authority to do. We don’t always know why God chooses the people He does to have authority in our lives. By all accounts, there will always be people in authority that we feel don’t deserve to be there. But nevertheless, you must honor them if you wish to live a blessed life. The point is, when you honor these people, it isn’t about the character of those in the position of authority, it’s about the character of the One who gave it to them. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). He deserves all praise and all honor and we honor Him by honoring those He has chosen to lead us.