GIVING HONOR WHERE HONOR IS DUE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The matter of honor always seems to at the forefront of things in life. I say this because everyone seems to want to be recognized or gain a following, often times going to extremes to do so.

For example, I recently read about an event that happened in 2018 where an aspiring rapper decided to ascend and stand on an interstate highway exit sign in a major California city. He stopped traffic for two hours before eventually jumping onto inflatable cushions and then being removed, charged, and arrested by the police. Oh yeah, he did all this only wearing underwear. In his view, what he did was appropriate to gain attention and publicity. It was all about him and wanting to gain some kind of honor, even if it meant spending time in jail and having a criminal record.

Today, we find people trying to gain large followings on social media platforms like X or TikTok, often willing to do ridiculous things just to get noticed. Some people actually get rich off of their antics which only leads others to try and do likewise. A quest for honor begets other quests.

Of late we have also seen where obscure songwriters can even get rich and be fueled by a song that goes viral on social media, usually because it is politically volatile and we can’t get enough of that it seems. People have drawn up sides in America and if you appeal to one side, you can be honored by them in ways that reach rather epic proportions. Unfortunately though, the opposing side will go to great lengths to try and dishonor the person.

Yes, people of the world seem to get obsessed with this matter of honor, to be adored and worshiped to the point where they feel idolized and the draw of potential wealth as a result only further fuels a person to seek more and more publicity.

But here’s the thing.

Self pursued honor is self centered in nature and this is a major issue before a God who is the Maker and Master of all creation, a God who makes all things possible, a God who will accept no worshiping of idols.

The Bible makes this matter clear. We are to honor the Lord and Him alone in every way and at every time. Not people. Not anything that people have created. Only God and Him alone.

The aforementioned people and those like them practice self glorification and Satan is good at birthing this sin within someone. Gain a little bit of acknowledgment or fame and all of a sudden a person can begin to believe that they are great instead of deflecting the honor to the Lord who deserves it.

We only become great because He chooses to lead us to greatness and He only leads us to greatness so that we can bring Him the praise and turn the spotlight from ourselves toward Him. For how will we ever impact the word for His cause and His sake, if we never testify about Him, letting others know the true source of our success.

The Apostle Paul totally understood this. He was the worst of sinners, destined for destruction and Hell, before Jesus came to him on the road to Damascus and changed the trajectory of his life forever. As a persecutor of Christians, Saul loved the celebrity of being valued by his fellow Jews for the fervor he displayed toward eliminating “the way” as Christianity was often referred to in that day. His reputation preceded him for we read in Acts, chapter 9 of how Ananias, a Christ believer in Damascus, was well aware of Saul’s reputation when he was told by Jesus to pay the persecutor a visit to renew his sight.

But then everything changed. Jesus restored Saul’s vision and his eyes opened to see the world and his place within it in a whole new light through belief in Jesus, the Light of the world. After regaining his strength from fasting, Saul immediately went into the synagogues and began preaching the Gospel, much to the shock of the Jews in attendance. His mission had changed and he now sought to bring honor to the Lord he had dishonored in his former self.

We know this through the very words of the Apostle and his testimony. Once such place is found in our scripture verse for today from 1 Timothy as he writes:

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen (1:17).

Here we find Paul summing up the supremacy and omnipotence of the one and only God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He is a God who has no rival or equal. He is the Creator and Ruler over all things in heaven and on earth, and His reign and sovereignty has no end as He is eternal and immortal. And He holds the ability to do all things, to make the impossible possible and the improbable probable.

Friends, we can’t afford to get so caught up in the world and ourselves that we somehow put God second in anything. Let us, like Paul, put honor where honor is due and never cease to do everything, whether in word and deed, so that all glory and praise goes to God and God alone, now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.