Building a culture of honour

The Bible commands Christians to “honour everyone” (1 Peter 2:17), to be devoted to each other in love, and to honour each other above ourselves (Romans 12:10).

What does “honour” mean? To honour someone is to esteem and treat them with high respect. To honour someone is to value them highly. Honour creates life-giving relationships. It lifts people up and causes them to flourish.

Every single human being is personally crafted by God, and made in His own image. God has already determined the value of human beings when He made them image bearers of Himself. This means that nothing we can say or do can add or take away from the value that God has placed on humanity. My value, and yours, and every other person’s value comes from God. Honour isn’t based on a person’s character and if they deserve honour or not. Our value does not come from our spouse, our pastors, our colleagues or our friends. Neither does it come from our or other people’s thoughts, feelings, words or actions. I am so glad and thankful that our value does not come from ourselves or others, but that it comes from God and only God! God has already determined our value when He created us in His image. Every person is worthy of honour because He has already crowned us, humanity, with glory and honour (Psalm 8:5).

The value that God placed on us, mankind should prompt us to see each other the way God sees us, and honour each other as the Bible has commanded us to. But it is difficult to honour everyone. We live in a world where we are confronted with people who have different political, ethical and religious beliefs. We don’t approve of their lifestyle choices, and our values clash with theirs. We get into disagreements, and they may even hurt us. We consider them less honourable, and we forget the value God has placed in them. However, I’m constantly reminded that honour is not tied to our feelings for someone. I do not need to agree with their decisions or beliefs to recognise that they are created in the image of God, and that they have immense value. We must choose to see people for who God says they are – image bearers of God, and make an intentional and conscious decision to honour them, even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard.  

Honour all people. Not just the good, deserving people, or the rich and powerful. Not just the influential ones, or those that can help you or do something for you. But also honour the ones you don’t think deserve honour: the poor, the broken, the messy, and the people who will never be able to do anything for you. Honour everyone. Go out of your way to honour them. Pray for them. Encourage them. Lift them up. Tell them why you value them, and demonstrate it with your actions. It’s not about “what I can get”, but “what God sees in them” and “what I can do for them”. Let us honour each other above ourselves. Let us build towards having a culture of honour and make honouring others a part of how we live. Let us put Jesus above all, and others before ourselves.