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What comes to mind when you hear the word honor?

You may not think about it often, but honor is something you practice everyday. Honor is the reason you don’t call your parents by their first name.

It’s the reason you give birthday cards. You show honor when you give eye contact in a conversation, hold the door at the grocery store, or let someone ahead of you in the buffet line. You show honor when you shake hands with another, place your hand over your heart while the national anthem is played, or stand for a bride as she walks down the aisle. We live in a culture of honor! But as society continues to redefine itself…who or what is worthy of honor is being redefined as well.

Increasingly we find that the highest honor is given to the individual! Much of society has adopted a self-centered, me first, listen to your heart, truth is relative — way of thinking… and it has impacted the way we view honor. Now what we really honor is each person’s pursuit of his own happiness… Just turn on the news and you’ll see that authority is no longer honored as it once was…. It is not en vogue to show respect for government, or police, or the military. Go to the grocery store or a restaurant and you’ll see that most kids have no idea what it means to honor their parents. Turn on a sitcom or many shows targeted at children and youth and you’ll find that the parents are made to look foolish, while the children hold the real authority.

Consider the way our society treats the aged. There is very little honor shown to eldest among us…which is an absolute shame… we owe so much to the generation who came before us and sacrificed for us… and they have so much wisdom we need…

Could it be that we’ve become so focused on the pursuit of our own happiness that we’ve lost sight of what is really important?

As a nation we just celebrated Memorial Day weekend, and the topic of honor is in the front of our minds. To honor someone simply means to show them high esteem or great respect. We understand the importance of showing respect to those who have purchased and defended our freedom by sacrificing their lives for the good of their country. And it is their sacrifice the helps us remember what it means to live in a way that is truly honorable. Rather than buying into the world’s pattern of honoring self above all else, remember the example of those before us who would rather live for the good of another than the good of self.

In Scripture, we have the purest example of this type of honor… when Christ honored God … and us… by laying down His life that we might be saved. As you go about the rest of your day, consider the example of Christ… and consider how you might show honor to those around you.