A Culture of Honor

Ephesians 4:1 NKJV

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

One characteristic of the kingdom that we often overlook is that of honor. The Bible was written in the context of an honor/shame culture. Jesus taught using the language of honor and shame and the disciples also wrote using these ideas.

Have you noticed how the world has become more separated and segregated? Have you seen how the culture has been focused on shaming and canceling others?

One of the reasons we need to have a Black History month is because culturally we do not honor the contributions of all Americans equally, regardless of their skin tone.

This is wrong.

Have you ever felt the effects of being disrespected, dishonored, or disowned? It is a painful and isolating effect that seeks to grind down our self-worth and value as people. And we see this type of dishonor and disrespect all over: online, on the job, in the Church.

But what if the Church, and especially our church, was different?

What kind of impact would it have on other people’s lives is we learned to honor others the way that Jesus taught?

Our culture has become more individualistic and self-honoring as time goes by. We need revival if we are going to change this trend. God’s kingdom is counter-cultural.

When the church becomes a place where honor is practiced, God will be glorified and people will be open to encounter Him. They will be valued and embraced and find their place within the kingdom of God and community of faith.

We Need a Vision of Honor

Our reality is much like the closing statement of the book of Judges:

Judges 21:25 NKJV

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

These words described the period of the judges, where the people of God suffered cycles of bondage and liberation because they turned away from honoring God and community and instead sought to build themselves up at the expense of others.

As we look to create a culture of honor where God is pleased and people are valued, we need to address the differences of our world and God’s.

The culture of the Bible is Eastern. It was written by and for people who lived in that environment. But we live in Western culture.

Western culture is more introspective and individualist and focuses on right/wrong or innocence/guilt. We assume that we should be internally motivated to do the right things and we consider that we will be internally punished with a guilty conscience if we don’t. We consider sin to be between us and God and something that we will face on Judgment Day (Hebrews 9.27).

Eastern culture is a collectivist culture that emphasized honor and shame. To their mind, sin is not simply individual and independent of a community’s honor. To them, it was like the little leaven which leavened the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5.6). They were more likely to choose right behavior based on what society expected. It was not about guilt or an inner conviction that directed their behavior. It was the external opinions and pressures of others. It was about the community.

According to the authors of “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible” the way we can summarize this is that in an innocence/guilt culture “the laws of society, rules of the church, local mores and the code of the home are all internalized in the person.” The goal is that when they break one of these things their conscience will be pricked and that feeling would discourage them from that behavior.

In a honor/shame society “the driving force is not to bring shame upon yourself, your family, your church, your village, your tribe or even your faith. The determining force is the expectations of your significant others…One’s actions are good or bad depending upon how the community interprets them.” In honor/shame cultures, shame is not negative; shaming is. “Technically, in these cultures shame is a good thing: it indicates that you and your community know the proper way to behave” (Ibid. Chapter 5: Have You No Shame?).

What if we became a people of honor and created a culture that was defined less by religion and laws and more about how we loved and honored and valued others?

Doesn’t this sound like the Church Jesus described—

John 13:35 NKJV

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is the way that Jesus lived and modeled for us.

Matthew 5:43–48 NKJV

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Faith working and energized by love produces a culture of honor that values people (Galatians 5.6).

Creating a Culture of Honor

If this is the way of Jesus and a picture that He painted of what it would be like to be in the church, we need to be growing in that direction.

Here are three ways that we can get started in our own lives and in River of Life Church to create a culture of honor:

We Honor God

Revelation 19:1 NKJV

After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!

We begin to create a culture of honor when we first recognize and honor God.

We do this in the way we live our lives (1 Corinthians 10.31, Romans 14.8).

We do this with our possessions which includes how we spend our money and the giving of tithes and offerings (Proverbs 3.9, Malachi 1.6-8, 2 Corinthians 8).

We do this by remembering Him before others as we share our faith with them (1 Peter 3.15 ESV).

When we do these things we are declaring the intrinsic worth of God. We recognize that He is God and that our actions are good or bad based on how He defines them.

Finally, we honor God by remembering that He expects us to walk in honor.

We Honor Others

We honor others by rendering honor to them.

Romans 13:7 AMP

Render to all men their dues. [Pay] taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.

We are commanded to give honor to others:

We honor parents (Deuteronomy 5.16)

We honor the elderly (Leviticus 19.32)

We honor those who have authority over us (Romans 13.7, 1 Peter 2.17)

We honor spiritual leaders who teach us the word of God (1 Timothy 5.17)

1 Peter 2:17 NKJV

Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

By honoring others we see them, value them, treat them with respect and dignity and consider how our actions impact them.

We Honor Ourselves

We bring honor to ourselves when we learn to receive and walk in honor well.

There is a difference between ascribed honor and acquired honor. We receive ascribed honor because of our position or title or birth, etc. We acquire honor by our character and our actions or public performance.

Luke 14:7–11 ESV

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In this parable, Jesus is teaching about one of the most important aspects of honoring yourself: humility. If you are humble, you will receive honor (Proverbs 29.23). If not, as explained in the story, you will go with shame to the least important seat in front of everyone.

When we have humility we do not think either too highly or too lowly of ourselves (Romans 12.3). We value ourselves and respect ourselves and when we do that, others will do so as well.

Conclusion

Psalm 8:3–5 NKJV

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

God makes humanity worthy and as God’s people we want to honor God by valuing people the way He does.

When we create a culture of honor, where we esteem and love people, we will experience God’s blessing and our encounters with people will be more positive.

As we as a church develop a culture of honor people who come here will experience God in a profound way. They will find a community that loves and values people. This kind of community doesn’t simply preach Jesus, they reveal Jesus. When we develop this kind of culture, people’s lives will be transformed in the love of God.