Honor
(or "honour" for those of us who prefer the British spelling -- LOL) should be a concept central to our lives both as Christians and as police officers (and servant-warriors in general).
But what does God say to us on the subject of honor in His Word, the Bible, and does it still apply to us in today's "inclusive" (God help us) society? Let's open our Bibles (God's inerrant Word) and dig in!
According to the dictionary, the word "
honor
" has two distinct meanings. One includes these synonyms: esteem, respect, pay homage to, assigning value to. The other meaning/context has a direct correlation to our God-ordained
calling
in law enforcement in involves these synonyms: integrity,
probity
(an old but honorable word), honesty, uprightness, ethics, morals, morality, principle (and high principles), righteousness, rectitude, nobility,
strength
(particularly "strength of heart"), high-mindedness, right-mindedness, noble-mindedness. Then there is the Greek word translated "
honor
" in our English Bibles,
timao
, means "to prize, i.e. fix a valuation upon; by implication, to revere" (
Strong's Concordance
). Showing honor, then, means treating another respectfully and "with honor" because we value them highly.
So is honor due
anyone?
Should we put value on any man or woman, or should we honor God alone? What does the Bible say?
Romans 13:7
(the last verse of the Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry's signature passage of
Romans 13:1-7
) reveals part of God's answer: "
Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear,
honor to whom honor...
" (added emphasis mine)
With this background in mind, let's turn to our central verse for this study:
1 Samuel 2:30
-- "
Those who honor me, I will honor
.
" What does this mean for us (and for those of us who serve in law enforcement in particular)? Let me provide a couple of illustrations to help us.
Some of you may know that I've been an athlete in one form or another since I was a youth, including time as a track and field (emphasis on field) Scottish heavy athletics competitor with dreams of throwing the hammer or discus in the Olympics. Recently, another Olympic sport -- soccer (specifically, women's soccer) -- has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. On this, an American Christian soccer player --
Jaelene Hinkle
-- has faced considerable criticism and persecution for standing firm (in agape love, mind you) for her Christian faith and
honoring God
by rightly refusing to wear a gay pride jersey in the face of incredible pressure to compromise and "be a team player" (she was essentially kicked off the team for her stand).
Speaking out in support of Jaelene
, Jim Daly of Focus on the Family wrote (in part),
"Make no mistake about it. The increasing secularization of American culture will continue to challenge the faith of Christians like Jaelene Hinkle."
Jaelene herself rightfully said, "I believe with every fiber in my body that what was written 2,000 years ago in the Bible is undoubtedly true...This world may change, but Christ and His Word never will.” Talk about
honor
ing God!
One of my favorite films -- released the year I graduated from college (dating myself here) -- is the academy award-winning, "
Chariots of Fire
" about (in part) the life of Olympic champion, missionary and fellow Scotsman,
Eric Liddell
. Eric, in many ways not unlike Jaelene today, faced heavy criticism for taking a stand to
honor God
(albeit Eric's doctrine as it relates to Christians and the Sabbath was legalistic and theologically amiss -- see
Christians and the Sabbath
).
Doctrinal issues aside, Eric was a committed Christian athlete who ran to
honor
and glorify
God
. Writing about Eric and the example he set, Christian blogger Derek Wheeler wrote,
"The movie tells the story of two British runners,
Harold Abrahams
and
Eric Liddell
who won gold medals (Abrahams in the 100 meter race and Liddell in the 400 meter race) at the 1924 Olympics. Abrahams was Jewish and ran to overcome prejudice. Liddell was a devout Christian who ran to glorify God.
Even though the movie does take some poetic license, it is fairly accurate from a historical standpoint. Eric Liddell normally ran the 100 meter race too, but learned that the qualifying heats were to be run on a Sunday. As a devout Christian, Liddell refused to run on Sunday. The British head track coach, the British Olympic Committee, and even the Prince of Wales implored Liddell to run, but he still refused. He ends up running the 400 meter race instead (MC -- that race took place other than on Sunday). Abrahams wins the 100 meter race, and Liddell wins gold in the 400 meter race.
There is a moment in the movie, just before the 400 meter race, when American sprinter
Jackson Scholz
hands Liddell a handwritten note, which read, "It says in the Good Book, 'He who honors me, I will honor.' Good luck. Jackson Scholz." Apparently, Jackson Scholz didn't give Liddell this note in real life but was rather handed to him by another British team member. Regardless, it was a nice gesture of sportsmanship and was a memorable scene in the movie.
What is impressive to me is that Liddell stood fast for his convictions. It would have been easy to just go ahead and run -- it was the Olympics for goodness sake! How better to glorify God than to win an Olympic gold medal (indeed, this was an argument that the Prince of Wales made, after Liddell refused to run for "King and Country"). I can imagine Liddell arguing in his head, trying to rationalize that it really was okay to run, even though the qualifying race was going to be held on a Sunday. But integrity won out. Liddell honored God, and in the end, he still won a gold medal."
Clearly, this is a modern day example of
1 Samuel 2:30
(the verse paraphrased in the note handed to Liddell before he ran). Given that the 400 was far from Eric's best event, and given his position on the track (he was in far outside lane), his record setting win was clear evidence that God honored Eric for first honoring Him.
How many times have we been placed in this kind of situation as police officers and in our lives in general? Integrity, strength of character and honor of the kind Liddell displayed is one of the absolute, fundamental characteristics of what my friend and colleague Travis Yates and I both call "
courageous leadership
" (see last week's Bible study). The late Army General and U.S. President, Dwight Eisenhower likewise rightly said, "The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity." Clearly this kind of "strength and honor" is central to both what we do in law enforcement and in our Christian lives as well.
Liddell made a choice to honor and be obedient to God (honor and obedience go hand-in-hand) over the things of the world. In turn, God blessed Liddell not just with a worldly medal but, more importantly, used him to lead many to a saving faith in Christ, including Abrahams who converted to Christianity before his death!
Likewise, there are consequences when we choose to "the world" over God's standard. In
Deuteronomy 28
, the Israelites were given a preview of this. God made it clear that His promise of blessing was conditional upon their
obedience
to God’s covenant. God said, “
If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee
…” (v.
1-2
). In verses
3-14
, the Bible lists the various ways that the people of Israel would be blessed. In the same chapter, God promised that if they broke His covenant that they would be cursed by God and forfeit the blessings.
Although these covenantal blessings apply specifically to the nation of Israel, the same principle – that obeying and honoring God brings blessing -- is seen throughout Scripture. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount
(
Matthew 5-7
), Jesus explained that it would be the “
poor in spirit,
” “
they that mourn
,”
“the meek
” (meekness being translated as "strength under control"), “
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness
,” “
the merciful
,” “
the pure in heart
,” “
the peacemakers
” (again, not about us as cops unless it happens to be a Christian officer leading others to faith in Christ) and “
they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake
” that would receive God’s blessing.
Now understand that this idea of blessing does not mean that Christians will never suffer. Nor does it mean that Christians will always prosper materially as the false "prosperity gospel" adherents wickedly teach. Rather, it means, that although we may very well suffer for our faith, God is pouring out His blessing by working all things together for our good (
Romans 8:28
). If we desire the blessing of God, we must align our hearts with His perfect and holy will.
Likewise, it is important to understand that God's standard for honoring us does not always result in worldly accolades. Liddell, for example, would go on to die in a horrific Japanese prison camp during WWII. Likewise, all of Christ's own disciples would be tortured and/or martyred before receiving their eternal "
crown of glory
" with our Lord in heaven.
Today thousands upon thousands of Christians are still being murdered (or worse) for standing firm (honoring God) in their faith; Christian officers are being slain and horribly wounded in the line of duty, etc. Yet we who have been
born again in Christ
can rest on the sure hope that if we are faithful in HONORing God with our lives and service, He will in turn give honor back to us both in this life and the next.
The concepts of honor and obedience to God's standard are also central to our police calling. Both God and honor are infused in our
Law Enforcement Code of Ethics
. O
bedience and honor, obedience and integrity, obedience and courage. Doing the right thing (honor), the right way (honor) all the time (honor) matters!
Understand also that Godly honor as taught in the Scriptures is far different from the type of honor sought after by the world. Honor and awards are heaped upon those with wealth, athletic skill, political clout, worldly power, and celebrity status. Those who thrive on this world’s fleeting strength, honor and status are unmindful or even dismissive of the fact that “
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble
”
(
1 Peter 5:5
). Such were the religious "elite" of Jesus’ time, who sought honor (status, glory) and accolades from men. But in truth, Jesus rejected them. He said, “
Everything they do is done for men to see
” (
Matthew 23:5
). He not only labeled them as hypocrites, but “snakes” and “vipers” (
Matthew 23:29-33
).
The point to be made here is that the world in which we reside is corrupt (
Deuteronomy 32:5
;
Philippians 2:15
) because it does not give to God the honor He deserves. The Bible teaches that true honor is found in God and His Son and in our being like Him (
John 15:8
). Though we are
in
this world, we must not be
of
this world (
John 15:18-21
). This means, as we honor God through our godly character, service and yes, our calling in law enforcement, we will reap dishonor and persecution from those of the world (just as Liddell and Hinkle did): “
everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted
” --
2 Timothy 3:12
.
Finally, the concept of
agape love
-- also central to our calling in law enforcement -- is
synonymous with honor (for example, see
Romans 12:10
). Yet achieving and sustaining this standard goes against our natural instinct and sin nature, leading us to honor and value ourselves and the world over God and others. It is therefore only by being imbued with by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit -- available
only
to those who have been born again in Christ -- that we can truly and correctly honor both God and our fellow man more than ourselves (
Romans 12:3
;
Philippians 2:3
).
Ultimately, without first being in a genuine, God-
honor
ing, life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with Christ, all our worldly strength, honors, medals, awards, service, "good" deeds, etc. are without meaning and will one day fade away or be destroyed (
Matthew 6:19-24
).
So do you have that? Do you know and honor Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you surrendered to Him in faith? Are you walking lock-step with Him in integrity and obedience? If not, or if you're not sure, I implore you to scroll down to the links in the "
Know God?
" section below.
In closing, prayerfully consider just two more passages (again, this is a BIBLE study):
"
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven
. (
Matthew 10:32-33
)
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
(
Luke 9:23-24
)
Friends, our calling to serve in the God-ordained profession of law enforcement comes from God Himself, and any honor we receive through our service rightly belongs to God alone. Turn to Him in faith today and ask Him for the
strength
to serve with
honor
and for His glory!
PRAYER
:
"Father God, we come before you today humbly seeking your covering, grace and power to both live and serve with honor while giving honor to You above all things. Thank you for calling us to a life of honor and service, and for the strength to carry it out for your glory. Please empower us to make a difference for the Kingdom in all we do. Amen."
"
Strength and honour
" indeed!
_____________________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you falsely believe that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "
good
" cop or "good" person? That you can be truly
honor
able on your own (Duty issues aside, what does your personal life look like? The divorce rate in law enforcement -- at least in part -- shows us how difficult it is to be honorable without Christ)? That you can be "good" enough without God? Take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly ministry were and remain, "
Repent and believe in the Good News
" (
Mark 1:15
). To
repent
is a "180" -- a complete,
radical
change of mind and heart as it relates to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (
pisteuo
in the original Greek) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and
surrender
your life to Him in faith in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop; that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used in defense against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(3) This same concept of "
believe
" (the saving kind) is further revealed in
John 3:1-21
where Jesus says, "
... you must be born again
." Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "
must
" (not "may" or "should" or even "someday"): this is ultimately the life-saving AND life-changing personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian
? [hint -- there is no other kind]).
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message from police servant-leader
Travis Yates
:
Cops and Salvation
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also an important part in dealing with the issues that can lead to suicide and sin in general. Click on,
Now what?
MC
