Honor

Hey all,

This weeks "Real Man" study with my son was on Honor.  Here are some highlights.  Check it out...we  used the following verse as our guide.
 

Proverbs 6:16:

Seven Things God Hates

   ^{16 -19} Here are six things God hates,
    and one more that he loathes with a passion:
      eyes that are arrogant,
      a tongue that lies,
      hands that murder the innocent,
      a heart that hatches evil plots,
      feet that race down a wicked track,
      a mouth that lies under oath,
      a troublemaker in the family.

So in response, we as an Honorable Real Man (RM) we should.......

1.)    Show Honor by being humble, not arrogant.  God hates arrogance because it says that we are doing thing on our own.  It is because of our own doing.  The fact is that we cannot do anything on our own.  Humility is a beautiful thing and God loves us when we are humble.  HE loves us to give HIM the glory and honor for all that he does in our life.  We need to remember it is HE not I.

2.)    Show Honor by telling the truth.  Be a truth teller.  God hates a liar.  No one has a good enough memory to be a good liar.  There is no such thing.  When we have honor, we tell the truth.  The word Honesty and Honor are related!  See the connection.  A RM has the courage to tell the truth.

3.)    Honor others through our actions.  Don’t let the “murder” word keep you from missing the point here.  You can harm the innocent and still not “murder” them.  Solomon is saying….do things to serve others….not yourself.  Don’t do things that help you and hurt others.  A RM honors others by what he does.

4.)    Show honor by doing good things.  Evil is upon us in this world and the devil wants us to listen to his schemes and plans.  He will make them sound right to us.  But a RM of honor will know the difference.  A RM will have the wisdom and therefore the honor to know what is good and will use that to not get pulled into doing evil (bad) things.  God hates evil as much or more than anything!

5.)    Show honor by walking in the right path.  God hates in when we stray off the right path, but HE will always forgive us when we come back.  But HE hates it when we keep doing it.  HE still loves us, but HE hates it when we keep running down the wrong paths.  A RM knows the right way and takes that path.

6.)    Show honor by always speaking the truth.  Similar to number two, but with a twist.  What Solomon is saying here is that when asked specifically to be truthful about something, God hates it when you still lie.  Imagine being in court and placing your hand on the bible to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and you still lie!  God hates that.  A RM of honor tries to always speak the truth but sometimes we might fail.  What God wants us to do is to always make sure the truth is known.  That in the moment of truth, we step forward with honor and tell the truth.

7.)    Show honor by not causing trouble.  No one likes a trouble maker.  God hates it when we do that.  A RM of honor does not allow his actions to start trouble and create problems with others.  We have to be responsible for what we do.  A RM takes the time to understand what his actions might do to others and is careful to avoid doing things that cause trouble.    

Remember......God NEVER hates us.  HE ALWAYS love us unconditionally.  Even when we mess up.  HE forgives us.  That is the what we call grace.  But it breaks HIS heart (hates it) when these things happen.  That said, if HE hates it when we do these things, then remember that HE loves it when we are honoring HIM by doing the right things.  That is called Honor.

Strength and Honor,

-S