Changing Times
The Christian Journey Choosing Honor By Pastor Doug Gilford
Have you ever received bad treatment from someone on the phone? Or rude treatment? Worse, from a customer service rep that you give money to!? Our mortgage company had to be involved in the rebuilding of our damaged home from Hurricane Ida. First, we could not get anyone on
the phone, second, they would not reply to our emails. A large check was being sent to them that they needed to endorse and send back so we could begin the rebuilding of our home. Time was of the essence. My wife and I tried for weeks and months to reach them and now, finally, we have someone on the phone…and to my despair, they were short, inattentive, and lacking empathy and urgency. I felt disrespected and embarrassed. They must have heard the frustration in my voice as we were forwarded from one department to another over and over until I wanted to scream. Something in me held me back
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from giving them a piece of my mind, although I struggled with it at first. It is one of the things our culture is sorely lacking, and honestly, I felt they were too. What held me back was an honor for God. I am reminded of the story of David before he was a king. He was merely working in King Saul’s army and had prospered quickly. David’s career rose fast. He defeated the giant Goliath. The king added him to his ranks of soldiers. David excelled in war-fighting. People began singing chants about Davids’s ability and as a result the king became jealous. The king’s jealousy was so fierce that he set out to kill David. Obviously, David and his loyal men had to leave and run for their lives. They hid in caves and stayed out of the limelight as they planned their next move. It was during this timeframe that something dramatic happened. David and his men were living out of a cave as Saul in his caravan of three-thousand troops are seeking for David to kill him and then they finally cross paths. This story is found in (1 Samuel 24) and I encourage you to read it for yourself. David and his men are in the back of a cave when Saul unknowingly goes into the same cave to “relieve himself” according to verse three. David’s men look at their leader and begin to celebrate because they know David could kill the king any second. What David does next is something of an enigma. He creeps up next to the king, and instead of cutting his throat, David cuts a piece of the corner of his robe and then exits. Why did David not simply kill the king? He could have and many people then thought he should have. Some today would say that was David’s opportunity to free himself of needing to run for his life constantly. Some
today might even say, “Strike first, strike hard, no mercy” the slogan for the Cobra Kai karate dojo. What was on David’s mind at that one moment? David honored the king because the king was chosen by God. David honored the king because of his position of king and I believe David honored God so much not to violate his honor. David had every right to kill Saul. But in David’s mind, rights or privileges are secondary to honor. So, when we have an opportunity to metaphorically kill someone with our words, or our actions, what should we do? Remember this: First, we honor people not because they are honorable, but because we are. When our lives are surrendered to Jesus, that means He is involved in them. The good times and the stressful ones. Our lives are directed by God and when we are tempted to shout, curse or hurt someone, we should remember that God knew this day would arise before we did. As a result, the hand of God is on this moment, therefore I can choose to honor when I could easily dishonor someone. Second, the way we honor others is a direct reflection of how we honor God. David’s fear and respect for God were stronger than his fear of Saul and his troops. The truth is if you continue to read this story you see that David gets upset at himself for simply cutting off the corner of the king’s robe. (1 Samuel 24:5) says, “David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” What a story of how we should treat one another!
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See HONOR on Page 48
