It is Important to Honor Others:

The church I attend has been making their way through Romans.  This past week was over Romans 16. Romans 16 goes through a whole bunch of people Paul wants to honor. Some of the people he wanted to highlight were Priscilla and Aquila, Phoebe, Mary, etc.  There were a lot in the church of Rome who made it a lot easier for Paul and the church as a whole to grow. Paul wanted everyone to know they had a role to play in helping the church be what it is today.   Paul also knows that when people are Christians, they all belong to the same family.  They are one God-honoring family, who should love and support each other.  

My pastor Peter through this section of the Bible shows us the importance of honoring others in Christ.  It can be important to show honor to others through a Christ-like way.  My pastor even  honored others in the church to show this as a good example.  He had certain members of the church stand up, so they could be recognized.  It was nice to highlight and honor members of our church.  He reminded us that we don’t need to feel awkward or ashamed of this act of Christ likeness. 

Sometimes we as Christians can be not the best at honoring other people or other Christians. We can believe if we give too many compliments then that maybe it would go to their heads or it would make them too prideful.  Sometimes we can also be too jealous or too comparative to really want to honor or highlight them. We may be too frustrated that we are not quite like they are.   This is highlighted by a point in the sermon with, “We can genuinely celebrate each other without jealousy because we are a Gospel family.”  

My pastor also highlighted that sometimes we as Christians are not very good about accepting honor.  We are not accepting of the good compliments.  We can believe we have to act with mild or faux pride.  However, it is a good reminder to us that when we are being honored and celebrated by other Christians that we are just showing the work that Christ has shown in us.  We are not supposed to act prideful because of our own work or because we have changed ourselves, but rather we are supposed to be proud of the work God has done for us. He reminded us of this when he said, “We can honor without pride, because we know we have been transformed by the Gospel.”  We have been transformed, so we can be at peace knowing he loves us and has changed us for the better.  

Both of these situations are not loving.  It is not good to feel as though we are not willing to give honor or compliments to others.   It is not good to never encourage or never want to cheer them on.  This is highlighted in the last point from the sermon which says, “We can give honor without hesitation because we trust in God’s work through the Gospel.”  We can see God extend his Gospel work through us and through our encouragement.  

Another verse highlighting this idea is Philippians 2:3-4 which says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  It is important to count others as more significant than ourselves. It is important to look towards the family of Christ as a whole and how we can make each other better.  

My challenge for you this week is to find a few (2-3) fellow Christians to encourage and honor.  This could be people who really have encouraged you or inspired you to be closer to Christ.  Let them know how they have taught you, or how they have inspired you.  Let them know and encourage them.  I also want to encourage you to really appreciate a compliment when it is given to you.  Be willing to accept this compliment with love and not with fake humility.  Let us all continue to grow this Christian family.