"Honor"

I honor both my parents,

The Bible says to do,

The first command with promise,

A good, long life it’s true.

Mom and Dad weren’t perfect,

They sinned just like the rest,

But God gave both them to me,

I know they did their best.

I honor God’s caregivers,

His gifted leadership,

To oversee and lead me,

On the Holy Spirit’s trip.

And yes, they’re only human,

Subject to weakness, too,

But God gives them anointing,

To do what all they do.

I honor those who serve us,

Who respond to trouble first,

Those in our military,

The doctor and the nurse.

And don’t forget policemen,

Firemen and all they do,

Willing to be in harm’s way,

Lay down their lives for you.

In fact the Good Book teaches,

Give honor where it’s due,

And ultimately it’s Jesus,

And when our lives are through,

The honor and the glory,

Praises to the Lamb,

Worship Him forever,

The awesome, great I Am.

One final thing I ask you,

The honor that we give,

Do we deserve to get it,

By all the way we live?

A life of blameless honor,

Is well within our reach,

If we trust in the Spirit,

To empower and to teach.

The life that is praiseworthy,

Receives the Father’s smile,

And He will someday tell us,

I am well-pleased, my child.

“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life…” (James 3:13, NLT)

Living an honorable life used to be something valued by our society. There was a code of honor, a moral code that was generally agreed upon and to which most people adhered. It boiled down to treating others the way we would want to be treated, what has been called the “Golden Rule.” But none of this seems to hold true now. Now there is no “public morality” or general consensus about what’s right and wrong. The temptation is to bewail this, but such railings do very little good. No, the best thing to do is simply live honorably as God gives us grace to do it. The honorable life, inspired by the Spirit, is the best advertisement for the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let us get on with the advertisement.

Lord, help us live honorably, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Michael Dudash, michaeldudash.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Michael, and God bless you.