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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

HONOR

Good reputation, respect, purity, integrity.

To the ancient world, the concept of honor was frequently linked to one’s tangible possessions. The honor of Odysseus was bound up with the restoration of his material goods; Achilles’ honor was dependent upon the gifts given him. Later, the word acquired the strong ethical nature we now associate with it. Plato was among the earliest to establish the personal moral element of honor, what he called “inward honor.” The distinctions accorded a man by the world—“outward honors”—were not of the same value as a virtuous person’s inner worth. The Romans as well as the Greeks placed great emphasis on the indispensable role of honor in an individual’s life.

Only in the Bible, however, do we gain a true perspective on honor. The OT required children to honor their parents (Ex 20:12), a command that reappears in the ethic of the NT (Eph 6:1-2). Undergirding such action is an even more basic obligation: the giving of honor to God, who worthily merits our devoted obedience (Rv 4:11). Proverbs 3:9 presents the law’s requirement that one should honor the Lord with his gifts and with the firstfruits of his entire harvest. Honoring God, then, is expressed in the commitment of both life and possessions to the Lord’s service.

That people do not honor God as they should is a lamentable truth of Scripture. In all of history only Jesus Christ truly honored the Father by submitting himself totally to the divine will. His submission led him to the cross, the means whereby Christ is now extremely exalted (Is 52:13–53:12). God the Father raised Christ to his permanent position as our great High Priest, an honor of incalculable significance (Heb 5:4-5). Jesus taught that the one who serves him would also be honored by his Father (Jn 12:26); conversely, those who reject him also reject God the Father (15:23).

Christians are called upon to honor one another—that is, each is to consider his fellow believer more worthy of esteem than himself (Rom 12:10). This orientation receives impetus from the affirmation of 1 Peter 1:7, where Christians are said to possess honor. Showing honor to others should affect one’s entire lifestyle. Husbands are to give honor to their wives by showing loving regard for them (1 Pt 3:7). Christian servants are expected to show honor to their masters so as to affirm the cause of Christ (1 Tm 6:1). Beyond the immediate community of the redeemed, too, honor must be appropriately displayed by all those who revere the teaching of Scripture (Rom 13:7; 1 Pt 2:17).