By Iyo_Embong

SOMEONE SAID that Robots will play a big role in the future – they function for hours, they never seem to run down, they are low on maintenance, and they do everything without praise, acknowledgment or attention. Actually, Robots are nothing new. They used to be called Mothers, Fathers, our Partners, Lovers & Friends!

In this church where I go from time to time, for the last few weeks they have been talking about Honour which is good. But I am not really sure if all of us fully understand what the word meant!

It should be quite simple! If you want to have an ordinary relationship with someone then treat them as ordinary. If you want to have an extra-ordinary relationship with someone then treat them as extra-ordinary! The key to the kind of relationship you have with someone is how you treat them.

• What kind of relationship do you want to have with your kids?
• What kind of relationship do you want to have with your parents?
• What kind of relationship do you want to have with your partners?
• What kind of relationship do you want to have with your friends?

When God was giving His people the Ten Commandments He told them, “Honour your father and your mother. Then you will live a long, full life…” He was establishing the high priority and principle of honouring others. Just as it is important for children to honour their parents it is important for everyone to honour each other. In fact, we honour God when we honour each other. Proverbs 17:5 says, “Those who mock the poor insult their Maker.”When we dishonour another person we dishonour God. When we treat another person with honour we communicate their value and significance as one created in the image of God Himself.

The best way to have a relationship that honours God is to have a relationship that honours each other. Why not sit down together and talk about how you can honour each other. God will help you. It will bring Him great pleasure!

The heart of honour is to take the strength of your life and pour it into someone else;

• we honour our children by giving them powerful choices
• we honour our friends and spouses by helping them maximize their potential
• we honour our leaders by supporting and strengthening them

It is all about empowering the people around us, whether man, woman, young, old, leader, or follower. And we do all this because of love. When we honour, we’re protecting our connections with each other, not ‘controlling’ each other. My relationship with you is more important than you doing what I want you to do. The result of a culture of honour is powerful people running together, all bound together by ‘COVENANT’ (and that’s another story) relationships. Sound good? It is – in fact, it’s heavenly! But like everything in God’s kingdom, there’s a divine tension.

Of course often when you give the people around you permission to be powerful and control themselves, there’s the definite possibility that they will use that freedom to excuse selfish behaviour.  A culture of honour will be messy at times, but ultimately exquisite in God’s sight, because we are valuing the power He’s put in each of His creations. Are we all about seeing the success of the person next to us, no matter who they are or where they’re at? What will honour look like for you?

LOVE, HONOUR, CHERISH and ADORE are such beautiful words, and we readily say them before family, friends, and for people of faith, before God, as we take our vows and promises. Yet, do we really understand the meaning of those words and apply them to our daily lives? These are strong words, filled with meaning. If every person kept these definitions in mind, and actively used them in our relationships, we would all be much happier. Even “IF” we already happy, there is always room for improvement.

We have all heard the saying that love isn’t always enough, which may be why honour and cherish and adore go hand in hand with love.

LOVE

Love has many different definitions, and we all love in different ways. However, think about some of these terms, and see how they fit your relationship.

• Adore
• Respect
• Admire
• Show affection
• Show devotion
• Find irresistible
• Unselfishness
• Loyalty
• Care
• Passion
• Tenderness

HONOUR

Do we really honour each other? To some extent, most couples do, but how much more could we honour our partners and friends if we really think about what this term means?

• Respect
• Admiration
• Integrity
• Deference
• To treat honourably
• To fulfil terms of an agreement (vows)

CHERISH

To cherish someone is to love and honour them as much if not more than you love yourself. It is the most meaningful of the terms, in my opinion. People can love each other, or care for each other, without cherishing one another. If we truly cherish each other, how can we have anything but happy and lasting relationships?

• To keep first in one’s mind
• To treasure another
• To value deeply
• To hold dear
• To prize above all else
• To treat with gentleness and tender care
• To esteem
• To appreciate
• To treat with utmost importance

ADORE

• To worship with profound reverence
• To pay divine honours to
• To honour as deity or as divine
• To love in the highest degree
• To regard with the utmost esteem and affection
• To idolize

In reality, if we cannot honour and trust ourselves, not meaning or understanding what we say to other people – and just simply involved in ‘Flattery’… then how are we suppose to honour other people?

WARNING: Sadly…you can do all the above and more and often people will still let you down. That will certainly break your heart!

“Say what you want to say when you have the feeling and the chance. My greatest regrets are the things I did not do, the opportunities missed and the feelings unsaid.” (Jim Keller)

By Iyo_Embong