What are some areas of danger regarding honor? - Honor - TouchPoints

Proverbs 25:27It’s not good to eat too much honey, and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself.

Just as it is not good to eat too much honey, it is not good for people to think about all the honors they deserve. We should not focus on receiving honor.

Matthew 6:1-6“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

John 5:44“No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.”

Galatians 1:10Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

Human praise and approval can be a dangerous trap. If we do good to impress others, we are not doing it out of love. This can lead to performing goodness rather than genuinely serving God and others. God does not reward this type of honor-seeking. Helping others out of love, praying out of a desire for God, obeying him when others aren’t watching—this is the kind of honor God delights in and rewards.

Proverbs 27:2Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—a stranger, not your own lips.

Matthew 23:11-12“The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

2 Corinthians 10:17-18As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

We should not boast about ourselves and our achievements.

Proverbs 25:6-7Don’t demand an audience with the king or push for a place among the great. It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table than to be sent away in public disgrace.

Mark 10:37-40They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

We should be cautious about pursuing honor for ourselves.

James 2:1-4My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

We should beware of our own motives for giving honor to others.