Honor vs. Disrespect
Honor is humbling myself in the presence of a God-given authority and expressing my devotion with an appropriate gift.
Definition The first aspect of honor is a spirit of reverence. A primary Hebrew word for reverence is shachah. It denotes to depress oneself; to prostrate oneself in order to pay homage to one in authority; to bow down, crouch; to fall down and do obeisance. Jonathan’s lame son, Mephibosheth, “fell on his face, and did reverence [shachah]” (II Samuel 9:6). “Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence [shachah] to the king” (I Kings 1:31). Shachah is translated worship in Joshua 5:14: “Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship [shachah]” the captain of the host of the Lord. It is also translated worship in Psalm 95:6: “O come, let us worship [shachah] and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” True reverence and the fear of the Lord are closely associated. The Hebrew word yare is translated as both fear and reverence: “Ye shall . . . reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:30). “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts” (Psalm 119:63). Reverence also involves honor. One Greek word for honor is timao. It expresses “to prize, to fix a valuation upon, to revere, to value someone at a price.” Scripture pro-
vides a significant list of those whom we are to reverence and honor.
Honor and Respect In addition to reverence, worship, and honor, the concept of respect must be considered. One Greek word for respect is apoblepo, which means “to turn the eyes away from all else and fix them on one person or thing, to look steadfastly.” This word is used to describe how Moses looked steadfastly (apoblepo) at the “recompence of the reward” and therefore was able to accept the reproaches of Christ as of greater value than all the treasures of Egypt. (See Hebrews 11:26.) In contrast, Esau failed to reverence his birthright and therefore sold it for a bowl of pottage. Afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was unable to obtain it, though he “sought it carefully with tears” (Hebrews 12:16–17).
The Key to Reverence Sincere reverence for people grows out of a proper fear of the Lord, since He is the One who created all men and established structures of authority. There are actually three aspects of the fear of the Lord, as indicated by three Hebrew and Greek words. Each aspect involves a progressive
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o reverence a ruler is to be reminded that God gave him his authority and will work through him to accomplish His will. “The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” —Proverbs 21:1
“God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” —Psalm 75:7
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fool reacts to the personality of a ruler. A wise man respects the position of a ruler.
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ur ultimate appeal is not to the ruler on the throne, but to God Who placed him there.
“There is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” —Romans 13:1
Honor
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