Honor All Men…
Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1Peter 2:17).
HONOR ALL MEN. How can this be? Are we to honor men who abuse women and children and break into houses? Don’t think so. As a child I heard it said “You can prove anything by the Bible.” For years I didn’t know what they meant. Then I understood that if you lift phrases out of the Bible you can make the phrase say anything you want it to say. Cults and weird behavior comes from doing that. What does he mean: “Honor all men?”
PAUL THOUGHT IT WISE TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO to tell his readers that he was a straight-shooter with the truth. He said: But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully….(2Corinthians 4:2a).
IF A MAN LOSES HIS INTEGRITY, HE HAS LOST HIS GREATEST POSSESSION. “Honor all men” means at least that every man is due a kind word and a sincere Good Morning!
The Bible tells us what kind of men we are to honor. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor [is due] (Romans 13:7). Here, our duty appears to be more the honoring of the one who bears an office rather than someone who has won a race or rescued someone from a burning building.
GOD HAS EQUIPPED HUMAN BEINGS WITH CERTAIN ABILITIES so that He can talk to us in simple terms. Who is due honor? God doesn’t find it necessary to tell us who to honor because we are endowed by Him with the ability to decide that. That’s also true in His charge to select certain people in the church as leaders. Moreover he [candidate for bishop] must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil (1Timothy 3:7). A good report among those outside the church.
In the book of Acts, a Roman soldier was singled out. And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee (Acts 10:22). Generally, we honor and respect those who care about others.
OUR TEXT CROSSES THE LINE OF ORDINARY PEOPLE AND INCLUDES HONORING THE KING. Not just good kings, but the king. While our Caesar is the Constitution, the chief administrator of the Constitution is our president. He should be honored for the office he holds. He may dip snuff or do worse things, but we are to honor him because he occupies the office. We are to pray for our president and all those in authority over us, not just those favorites who make us proud. In fact, the leader who is a mess of a human being may need a lot more prayer because he or she is in a position to do a lot of damage.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (1Timothy 2:1-2).
believe if we would pray more for our leaders, we would sin less with our tongues. If we think we can elect a perfect president or marry a perfect husband or a perfect wife there is something bad wrong with our thinking. We are to pray for others, including our political leaders, because they are not adequate to do what is expected of them.
Our president is going to be as full of flaws as a yard dog full of fleas. Government officials put their shoes on one at a time just like we do and have to brush their teeth and take a bath. He (or she) will need our earnest prayers every day. God tells us to HONOR those that are due to be honored. Even the family dog likes a pat on the head. We might remember that we can’t get the family dog to come to us by beating him with a stick.
LET'S READ THE BIBLE THIS YEAR. Let’s get our minds set toward reading the Word of God every day. A pocket New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs is a handy tool for getting in more Bible reading. Work on the habit of carrying it to work or school and read it. The Old Testament can be read every day at home. Or, you can read from Morning Minute and have it read to you if you like.
Or, if you have a smart phone you can install a good Bible app and read it there. The people who were most influential in building America were Bible readers and that’s a fact. If you want to be a good student, read the Bible. If you want to be a good family member, read the Bible. If you want to do anything in life that’s worth anything, read your Bible. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JANUARY 31, 2018 – WEDNESDAY
A.M. Exodus 25-26 P.M. Matthew 21:1-22
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
A Good Verse to Memorize:
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)
Song for Today:
Just When I Need Him Most (2:46) (Dr. Lee Roberson & Ladies Trio)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDauEBXfVoU&app=desktop
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