Honoring Others!

  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12: 10).

To Honor is to attach high value to something or someone! Relationship experts Gary Smalley and John Trent in a conference study manual wrote:

1. The most important thing we can do is to honor God as the highest priority in our lives.

 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3: 7-8).

2. The most important thing we can do is towards building loving lasting relationships is to learn to honor others.

Honoring someone is a decision which is not based on emotional feelings. Deciding to honor our spouse or other loved ones begins to change our feelings toward them.

Deciding to DE-value them is a quick means to losing our emotional feelings for them.

Relationships are the glue that makes life work. I have been blessed to have many wonderful and fruitful relationships in my life. I am sure I have failed my friends from time to time, but I can say without contradiction, I don’t want to!

It seems to me that too many discard friendships and relationships as if it’s no big deal. It is a big deal! People matter, and so do their feelings.

However, the Bible is clear not all relationships endure.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (Romans 12:18).

Paul clearly says ...if possible, sometimes people are very hard to like, much less love!

What are we to do?

Make every effort to invest in the lives of others, take your time, and value them! I can promise you if you will value your spouse, children, and co-workers, if you will choose Romans 12: 10 as your theme verse:

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor, you will be amazed at the life and friends the Lord will give you!

Recently I was watching “Little House on the Prairie”; the story was about a widow with three children who discovered she would soon die. She on a Sunday morning stood in front of the Church people, told her story and asked that they pray about taking in her children, after her death.

She died, at the graveside service the Pastor read a note that she had written:

"Remember me with smiles and laughter; for that's the way I'll remember you all. If you can only remember me with tears, then don't remember me at all."

You will be remembered, how you will be remembered depends…will you honor those in your life or not?