Over the decades we have seen a steady decline in honouring God in government, education, entertainment, media and society in general until we have reached the point of outright hostility.
To honour God is to regard God with reverential respect and awe of just authority. It is what the Bible refers to as, the fear of the Lord.
Prov. 9:10 speaks of the proper reverence accorded to God.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Honour and respect for God leads to obedience to God who is the source of all wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
God is entirely holy in His nature, motives, thoughts, words, and deeds so that He is called Qadosh “the Holy One” or Qedosh Yisrael, “the Holy One of Israel.”
In Leviticus 10:10—God desired that the priests be able to distinguish “holy” and “unholy” and teach Israel to do likewise.
Honour and reverence of God is almost non-existent in our society.
Teachings on extreme grace, combined with a high percentage of Biblical illiteracy has left many Christians not even knowing what sin is anymore.
Christians wouldn’t be buying into ideologies that are incompatible with the teachings of the Bible if they honoured God.
To honor the Lord is to hate evil…(Proverbs 8:13GNT)
…for those who honour Me I will honour, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. We are reminded that the way we treat God can determine the way He treats us.
Jesus made a similar statement when He said, Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven, (Matthew 10:32-33).
When I was growing up even people who weren’t Christians had a reverence toward God.
My parent’s and grandparent’s generations went through an education system where the Bible and love of God and country were respected and promoted. It permeated the culture and influenced people who weren’t Christians.
At sporting events or any public gathering, it would be opened with prayer and even the unbelievers would remove their hat or cap in respect. Today people come into church wearing a baseball cap and don’t take it off.
This is a subtle reminder of how the fear of the Lord has slipped away.This is not about being legalistic it’s about being respectful, reverent and honouring God.
Believers, unbelievers, pastors, spiritual leaders, government leaders who promote or excuse ungodly behaviour contrary to the Word of God do not fear the Lord or honour God.
This has also translated into a lack of respect for our elders. It is not unusual to hear children in this generation address their elders by their first name.
Leviticus 19:32 GWT—Show respect to the elderly, and honor older people. In this way you show respect for your God. I am the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-2—Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise…
To honour God is to honour and respect your parents and elders.
During World War II there was a fear and reverence for God that underpinned society and propelled the nations of the western world to hate evil at all costs.
Winston Churchill, the greatest leader of the 20thcentury, possessed a fear of the Lord and honoured God publicly, which had a profound effect on Great Britain. In his first radio broadcast as Prime Minister on May 19, 1940 he quoted an edited verse of scripture to inspire and ready the country for war.
“Centuries Ago words were written to be a call and a spur to the faithful servants of Truth and Justice: ‘Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valor, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar. As the will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be.”
Do you suppose that acknowledging dependence on God at that time had anything to do with God’s intervention and granting victory to those who honoured Him?
As Biblical citizens, we must not only publicly honour God individually, but we must also engage in the current spiritual conflict on the local and national level. We must choose civil leaders who will publicly honour God because whether they do or not will have a significant impact on every individual and nation. This may also mean God is calling you to step into public office.
Rabbi Benjamin Friedman said, “Having abandoned God why should we whimper, “Where is God?”
We need present-day leaders on the local and national levels who understand that God will honour those who honour Him and those who despise Him will become irrelevant.