Treating Everyone with Honor, Part 1
“Show proper respect to everyone….”
1 Peter 2:17a (NIV)
Imagine with me for a moment how the power of honor could change our world? Think about it. We live in a culture of dishonor. Common courtesy is not so common anymore, is it? Rudeness is on the rise, and we’ve replaced honor with anger and kindness for crudeness. To a similar culture in his day, the apostle Peter wrote, “Show proper respect to everyone…” 1 Peter 2:17a (NIV). Another translation says it even simpler, “Honor everyone. Love your brothers and sisters in the faith. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” 1 Peter 2:17 (GW)
Honoring everyone is a challenge. If we’re honest, some people are easier to honor than others. Jesus understood that yet didn’t adjust the challenge in Matthew 5:43-46 (GNT) when He said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your friends, hate your enemies.' But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For He makes His sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that!”
For the next couple of days, I want to challenge you to practice this in your life as I practice it in my own. I believe we could change our world with the power of honor, and I can’t think of any institution in the world that can do it other than the church. So, let it begin with us – those who call themselves Christ followers. Let’s take God at His Word and ask Him to empower us to honor EVERYONE, to show them proper respect and dignity, even those who don’t agree with us or whose lifestyles are contrary to our personal convictions. How can we honor those who act dishonorably? I get it, some people are like sandpaper. They rub you the wrong way. Titus 3:1-8 (MSG/TLB) offers us some wise counsel for how to treat everyone with value and respect.
It says, “Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God's people should be bighearted and courteous. Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient; we were misled by others and became slaves to many evil pleasures and wicked desires. Our lives were full of resentment and envy. We hated others and they hated us. But when the time came for the kindness and love of God our Savior to appear, then He saved us—not because we were good enough to be saved but because of His kindness and pity—by washing away our sins and giving us the new joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us with wonderful fullness—and all because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did so that He could declare us good in God’s eyes—all because of His great kindness; and now we can share in the wealth of the eternal life He gives us, and we are eagerly looking forward to receiving it. These things I have told you are all true. Insist on them so that Christians will be careful to do good deeds all the time, for this is not only right, but it brings results.”
We’re going to unpack this passage over the next couple of days because it tells us that treating others with honor not only is the right thing to do, but it opens God’s blessings in our lives as well. For now, spend a moment and look back over this passage. Meditate on it. How is God speaking to you through this passage of Scripture? In what ways could you apply it in your life today? Pray it back to God asking Him to help you be “bighearted and courteous” to everyone.