HONOR: COMES FROM HONORING GOD
"Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.'"-1 Samuel 2:30 (NKJV)
We now come to our final subject of study in our "Character Class"-honor. What exactly is honor, and what does it mean for someone to have an honorable character? Honor is defined in the dictionary as "high respect, as that shown for special merit or esteem, a good name or reputation, a source or cause of credit, a title conferred for achievement, high rank, the dignity accorded to a position, a code of integrity, dignity, and pride; principled uprightness of character and personal integrity."
Is this is an apt definition of your character? We know ourselves all too well, and despite appearances, we know that deep down in our hearts, there still dwells a considerable amount of dishonorable character. Knowing what lies within us, is there any hope of ever attaining honor?
There is. The prophet Samuel shows us in the Scripture above that it comes to us from God as we determine to honor Him. This is a spiritual law that proves one hundred percent true, one hundred percent of the time. When we honor the Lord with our lives, He confers His honor upon us, which, in turn, serves to make our character all the more honorable. Honor doesn't come from within us; it is bestowed upon us from above.
We're left with a choice. We can either bemoan the fact that we tend to be dishonorable, or we can busy ourselves with honoring God and watch as He keeps His promise to pour out His honor upon our lives.
Discuss with your group what it means to honor the Lord. Share a time when you have seen this done well. What happened?
Dig into 1 Samuel 2:22–30. As a servant of the Lord, how was Eli honoring God? How was he dishonoring God? What terms does God plainly present in this passage? How does verse 30 challenge you as you consider your own walk with God?
Decide as a group to honor the Lord through a special time of worship. Attend a worship service or concert together in the upcoming weeks. Afterwards, talk about the importance of honoring God in our worship.
