In certain nations they have a castes structure in place, a hierarchy of order, and to move outside of that placement is forbidden. People on the higher part of the castes do not want to move, and those on the lowest parts are not allowed to. Honor keeps them poor.
In ancient far eastern cultures, when honor was besmirched, men would end their lives, many in today’s “modern” western civilizations guard their honor with ferocity. To lose honor is to lose the respect of those they want to be respected by. “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” (Romans 13:7) When sought for intentionally, honor is pride, it is as its foundation the desire to be worshipped, to be recognized and lifted up by others when honor is offered when due, its intention is not to create pride, but to recognize that certain individual as behaving honorably, and those that are so honored never seek for it.
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:30) When a born-again believer seeks recognition for his accomplishments, he is not seeking the things of God, his desire is for self-recognition from others, to be honored by man never gives any thought to honoring God. No man who seeks honor denies himself.
The path that we are to be on can only be kept in sight if we are following the Lord Jesus, if we take our eyes off of Him, we will begin to sink as Peter did, (Matt. 14:30) if we seek our own, we are not seeking Him. There is only one path to the destruction of that self-centered honor, humility. “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.” (Prov. 18:12) But even as those who have, because of the traditions of the nations they live in, some born-again believers have determined that where they are is where they are supposed to be, they have for all intents and purposes, accepted their place in life.
We are called to “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18) Which in itself infers that where we are today on the path, our walk with the Lord, is not where we are expected to be tomorrow. A step of faith is more pleasurable in the eyes of the Lord than resting in what we already know.
Faith trusts Christ to move us, to draw us closer to Himself, to deny the desires for self-sought honor, and to give all the glory to God. When mankind attempts to lift us up, that is what we deny, when honors are heaped upon us, we cast them at the feet of Jesus, and when we are told to remain in our “station” in life, we move ahead in faith.
Many who are “above us” in that station will attempt to keep us “beneath” them, for they see our growth as an attack upon them, an attempt to usurp them from that position of honor among men that they hold. This statement stands as truth within nearly every governmental agency, corporate business, amongst those who surround us in our daily lives, and sadly in far too many church settings. Time served does not always infer superiority, family history does not always mean that person is deserving of honor, extensive financial resources does not make one better than one’s fellow man.
We must be taught the humility that the Scriptures speak of, it is not in our nature to be so. Very few people who are in positions of authority over us will attempt to help you to be as they are, pride will not allow that, they would lose that position of honor. If we seek to glorify God, we do not have that problem. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” (Phil. 2:3) Honoring the Lord in all that you do is the best way to understand humility, to see the Lord as who He is, Sovereign, is the surest way to destroy pride in a man’s life.
