Exodus 20:1-17 [NLTse]
Then God gave the people all these instructions:
2 “I am the Lord your God, Who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
3 “You must not have any other god but Me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God Who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject Me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love Me and obey My commands.
7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse His name.
8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day He rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You must not murder.
14 “You must not commit adultery.
15 “You must not steal.
16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
When I was growing up we were made to stand when a woman entered the room where we were sitting, or when a woman who was sitting among us got up. We were made to give our seat to my mother or aunt or grandmother, if they needed one, or to any visitor or adult who came into the room if we had a better seat or a seat that was more convenient for them than was available. We were made to hold open doors for women and the elderly. We were not allowed to talk back to adults, even if they were rude to us. (We were told to always be honest and respectful, and if adults were rude towards us or treating us badly, to excuse ourselves and simply walk away.)
During those years I saw all of these things as rules I had to obey, things I had to do or I would get into trouble. But I’ve grown to see them as ways I can demonstrate honor towards others. (I’m sure when I was growing up someone told me that all these deeds were ways to show honor to those in authority or older than me, but I don’t remember it.)
Even today when I get together with my folks, I hold the chair for my mom when she sits down at the dinner table. (Or at least I try to remember to.) And my mother gets to take the first bite when we’re all at meals together. Or, if she’s not at the table, my wife, Amy, does. And we’re working on establishing this around my home more and more, as well: To show those around us that we honor them; and to actively keep the idea of honoring others in the forefront of our minds, even though these acts can seem a little excessive and awkward sometimes.
Do you remember when we used to honor the Lord by not even coming up onto the Chancel unless we absolutely had to, and even then, so careful not to touch anything unless we had to? (I can remember looking for excuses to get up into the Chancel where I grew up whenever I could. And I would take my time, and look around, and see what was behind all the furniture that we could only see the front of…) You would never put anything on the Table, never put anything on the Pulpit or baptismal Font. Never! The whole area was to be treated reverently, holy to the Lord! We dressed up for church to honor God. We took off our hats when we came into the church building to honor God…
But, like for me with all the do’s and don’t’s I grew up with, it seems that the idea of “honoring God” through these actions fell away and behaviors simply became “what you do when you’re in church”! It all became “the right way to behave”! And our expressions of honor became rigid laws. And since we Christians know that we’ve died to the law many of us rebelled against these laws, too. And we set ourselves and our children free from them all and treated the building and the Sanctuary and the Chancel and the Table and the Font and the Pulpit like anywhere else, and treated each other like anyone else…
We’ve been talking about honor off and on this past month or so because I believe the Lord is calling His Church to re-establish a “culture of honor”, and calling us to do so here at First Presbyterian Church. I don’t want us to create rules. I don’t want to hear us talking about how “you just don’t do that here” or how “that’s wrong to do that in church”. I don’t want us to demand for others around us to “Give me your seat. You’re supposed to honor me, remember.” I hope to be a part of and to overhear conversations where we’re encouraging each other to consider doing this or that in order to honor God, or in order to show honor to this or that person around us. Fighting the human temptation to make everything into laws to control each other and have things be our way, I want to invite us to actively honor Christ, and each other, and all those Christ calls among us here.
There are evangelistic reasons for honoring the Lord and those around us, because it’s so rare for people to behave these ways towards others anymore. When a kid holds the door for an older person it gets their attention. When you go out of your way to say an encouraging word, ask another’s forgiveness for even a minor infraction, do an intentional act of kindness, you stand out. And then after a while people might want to find out why we treat them and those around us as though they were so special. And if we’re ready to share Christ with them, telling them how He made all human beings in His image, which makes every person worthy of honor, because Jesus died in the hopes of reconciling each of us to God, then they might give themselves to loving and following Him, too.
Some of you may think that I’m overstating things. Do all of these little deeds and actions really make such a big difference? Well, I think the reality of it all reveals the truth of it. Because some of you have commented to me when I still do some of these things – opening the car door to let you in or let you out, holding your chair to seat you, standing when you stand, picking up things you’ve dropped – and you’ve mentioned to me how special these awkward, extravagant little acts to honor you make you feel. And I can tell you today how very honorable I feel when I do them. So it works both ways!
And yet, it’s not just for evangelism or to feel good or even have others feel good. It’s really about the abundant life Jesus came to give us. In the Ten Commandments our Father has promised us that honoring our parents influences the length and quality of our lives. A “long” life comes from honoring our parents. A “full” life comes from honoring our moms and our dads.
And the apostle Peter writes: “You husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7) Honoring our folks affects the length and quality of our lives, and honoring our wives (men) keeps our prayers from being hindered: Either God doesn’t respond to our prayers when we don’t honor our wives, or dishonoring our wives puts us in a place where we can’t pray rightly. Whichever is at the heart of what Peter is teaching, a significant part of keeping our relationship with God open and healthy is honoring our wives!
And if set ourselves to honor the Lord’s house and Sanctuary in these ways and others, and to honor the family of God, and to honor all people in these and other ways, perhaps we’ll grow in honoring Him and one another and others better and with greater integrity in our hearts, and honor them with our thoughts and with what we say to and say about them, too.
Honoring the Lord and honoring each other and others is a part of readying Christ’s Church for the revival He longs to bring. If you look up the word honor in a Thesaurus you will find it to be one of the most often-used words in the Bible. The Lord is very concerned about His Own honor, and He is very concerned that we are honorable, act honorably, and treat others with honor. Honoring Him and those around us, even in ways that might seem awkward or excessive, is an important part of preparing ourselves and inviting Him to be among us with the revival that only He can bring.
“Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.” (Psalm 15:3-5)