Honor. Godly honor. It’s the kind of honor that keeps its word and standard of integrity no matter what. It never fails—it always succeeds.

Every day, commitments of honor are required of you. You have choices to make regarding ethics in your job, disciplining your children, keeping your marriage strong—and it’s hard. It’s a choice between God’s honor and man’s. One brings true and sure success…and one brings shallow, temporal success that ends in ultimate failure. In other words, it looks good but doesn’t last.

You just can’t live the Christian life without honor. You’ll never be faithful without it. You can’t be. Without honor, you don’t have the power to be faithful. It’s just not in you.

In John 5:41-44, Jesus told the Pharisees about honor that comes from God only. That’s the kind of honor we must have to stand in our day. You can be a powerful force in the earth as a believer who walks by faith, but to do it, you must operate in His honor.

Man’s definition of honor, however, is quite different from God’s. It is a derivative of the honor of God, but it is light and shallow—it is a false honor that deceives men. The world’s honor that comes from men and is given to men is what I call the “honor game.” In this sport, everything is done to gain the prestige, power and authority that other men can give. It’s temporal, short-lived and dishonorable in view of what some men will do to get it.

In playing the game, people will scheme, beg, swap favors, cheat and “shade the truth” to “win.” You may work with people like that. These schemers may receive the same physical privileges, the same “honor” as those who are truly deserving—although they did not win with true honor. But know that in the long run, they don’t win.

On the other hand, God is faithful to honor you when you act honorably. That’s because you are acting in something that originated in Him! He is honorable. So don’t play the game! Live honorably with the honor that comes from God alone. Your rewards will be far greater and eternal…He guarantees it.

Speak the Word

As I honor God, He honors me. (1 Samuel 2:30)