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A Culture of Honor
Proverbs 9:7-9 (NASB) says, “7 He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. 8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. 9 Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.”
There is a difference between honor and respect. Respect is earned through witnessing someone’s growth and experiences. It is proven through consistency and perseverance. Honor is given due to the position of high authority that someone has obtained. You may honor someone that you do not respect, and you may respect someone that you do not honor! You should apply both!
We can learn a great deal from Solomon in the book of Proverbs concerning honor:
- Wisdom brings honor (Proverbs 3:16, 35; 4:8; 8:18).
- Before honor comes humility (Proverbs 11:2; 15:33; 18:12; 29:23), the fear of the LORD, riches and life (Proverbs 22:4).
- It is honorable to keep away from strife (Proverbs 20:3). If you pursue righteousness and loyalty, you fill find honor (Proverbs 21:21). *If you want to be honorable, be loyal.
- Do not try to “show off” your knowledge to someone who is on an entirely different spiritual level than you, and do not ignore conversations of when anointed and righteous kings try to pour into you (Proverbs 25:6).
- Fools dishonor (Proverbs 26:1).
- Correcting a scoffer brings dishonor (Proverbs 9:7), but get rid of the scoffer and then strife and dishonor will cease (Proverbs 22:10).
- When you keep away from strife, you will be honorable (Proverbs 20:3).
- However, when you correct a righteous and wise man, he will grow in learning, and he will love you for it (Proverbs 9:7-9). —NASB
When we create a culture of honor, we remove offense and we accept rebuke. Always season constructive criticism with encouragement. When you honor someone, you are able to receive instruction, correction and discipline. In the multitude of counselors, there is safety (Proverbs 11:14; 24:6). When we are clothed in humility and are disciplined in Christ, we are not opinionated but truthful. Opinions can be wrong, but truths will always be right! Opinions have no Biblical foundation or witness of the truth, but they begin with things like, “In my opinion”, or, “I think that”. However, when you seek for advice, then spiritual advisors will tell you what they would do if they were in your shoes. They can’t make the decision for you, but they can create the pathway for the right decision, presenting both pros and cons. Regardless of how many spiritual fathers you have, it will never exceed or eliminate the need of hearing from your heavenly Father!
It is a great dishonor to take advantage of and use people for your own need and benefit! We dishonor people when we call upon them solely when we need them or take advantage of their kindness and love. People will recognize a “counterfeit” love. This hypocritical love pulls on people you are connected to to build yourself up. When it is when you try to evangelize the gospel and win souls to increase a stat line rather than build the kingdom of God, just like people who want to average 40 points per game or get triple doubles but their team never wins. They seek to take advantage of people just exactly when they need something. Kids, who are use to people going in and out of their lives like a revolving door, is also being participated by the church because there is no committed relationship. Our motive for doing good things should not be to pat ourselves on the back and make ourselves feel better, but to impact and change lives for the glory of the LORD! You should make it your goal to simply disciple one person!