Honor…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

The dictionary provides several definitions for the word “Honor”, but the one I am writing about today is:

Honor ~ to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect

How do we honor others, especially if we feel they don’t deserve it? How do we honor ourselves, especially if we feel we are worthless? Most importantly, how do we honor God, especially when we feel He is distant from us? We make it so difficult but it really is so simple.  

It’s just my opinion, but I believe the verse above in Proverbs provides us the tools. Let me give you my (very uneducated, yet highly experienced) breakdown of this verse.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart – How do you trust? Simple. You either do or you don’t. There is no maybe in trust. You either believe or you don’t. There is no agnostic in trust.

Do not depend – rely on or trust **Let me just throw a little caveat in here…We are always to trust in the Lord but we cannot always depend on our own selves. Explanation below…

On your own understanding – Here’s where we really screw things up. We have a tendency to believe our feelings, emotions and perceptions as the very truth of the situation. The reality is…hold on to your seat… they are just what they are: feelings, emotions and perceptions. They are NOT the truth of the situation. You can have several people experience the exact same situation but each one will see it differently based on how they are feeling, what they saw and the life experiences they have already been through.

Seek His will in all you do – This is where we often fail. We seek our will because we want the outcome to be what we want. We lie, cheat, avoid and manipulate to get the outcome we desire. It is when we totally surrender the outcome that we want to God and accept the plans He has, that things always, seem to work out, even better than we had planned. As a codependent, I have much personal experience in this area and will probably write more about it some other time.

He will show you which path to take – Another, sometimes difficult, choice. He will show us the path but it is up to us to make a choice to walk that path.

So, with all that said, back to honor. Oh, I have so much to say and just don’t know how to get it out without rambling on and on but I will give it my best shot.

How do we honor others? We really don’t know what has happened in someone’s lifetime that has scarred them or sculpted them into the person they are today. We don’t know what happened recently that may have put them in a bad mood. We don’t know the deep pain or feelings of worthlessness they may be going through. We just don’t know.

Now you may be saying, “But I know this person inside and out”. Well, maybe you don’t. Sometimes, even those closest to us carry around things (feelings, disappointments, hurts) that they are not ready to reveal and may never be.

We honor others by accepting them for who they are and allowing them to be human. We offer grace and forgiveness for the things they say or do that may hurt or disrespect us. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying to keep allowing them to do these things, but to set the boundaries so they understand, and move on. Don’t keep dwelling on it and throwing it up in their face.

If a stranger was rude to you or something, try to remember, you don’t know what they are going through. Give them grace anyway and walk away.

How do we honor ourselves? Good Lord! Love yourself! Forgive yourself! Treat yourself nicely! Let things go that you have no control over! Look at the beauty around you and count your blessings!

How do we honor God? By caring for His children. By treating others and ourselves right. By giving others and ourselves the love and respect we all deserve. If we can do that, I’m sure God is truly honored.

I hope this song speaks to your heart like it does mine…