Choose Honor
There are a lot of special days and holidays we celebrate. Mother’s day was a couple of weeks ago. Father’s day is the week after next. We just celebrated Memorial Day. We are going to celebrate the 4th of July soon. Next Sunday we will celebrate with those who are graduating from H.S.
Almost all of these special days are about honoring
someone. Why? Because giving honor is important to our well being as individuals, as families, and in our society.
There is some very practical and down to earth stuff given to us by Paul this morning.
Ephesians 6:1-9
Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.
Eph 6:2 "Honor your father and mother." This is a very important commandment with a promise:
Eph 6:3 "So that it may go well for you, and that you may have a long life on the earth."
Eph 6:4 Fathers, do not make your children angry, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Eph 6:5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear, with trembling, and along with sincerity, as when you obey Christ.
Eph 6:6 Do not do this only while being watched in order to please them, but be like slaves of Christ who do God’s will from the heart.
Eph 6:7 Serve willingly, as if you were serving the Lord and not merely people.
Eph 6:8 For you know that everyone will receive a reward from the Lord for whatever good he has done, whether he is a slave or free.
Eph 6:9 Masters, treat your slaves the same way. Do not threaten them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Live by Duty
Why? BECAUSE IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO
The key word is obey. It’s not about knowing what to do – it’s doing it! Jesus put it this way: John 13:17 If you understand these things, how blessed you are if you put them into practice! Do what is right is a duty. It doesn’t always feel right!
In fact feelings can be very dangerous!
Vertigo
A couple of years ago we were all surprised to hear the news of John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s plane crash and death. He and his passengers in his new Piper Saratoga plunged at a rate of 4,700 feet per minute, 1,100 feet in just 14 seconds, into the ocean. How could it have happened?
According to the Associated Press, the most likely explanation is pilot error caused by two things: disorientation in the night sky and a lack of experience in a swift new plane. "This wouldn’t be the first time a pilot has lost control of a plane because of spatial disorientation or vertigo," said Larry Gross, an aviation professor at Purdue University.
Pilots can become disoriented because their inner ear tricks them into thinking they are level when in fact they are turning. At night or in cloudy skies, there are few visual landmarks to reorient the brain. If a pilot is not trained to use flight instruments, as Kennedy wasn’t, he can begin a dive-- even a steep one-- without realizing it. "Literally, you lose control of the plane and you can’t determine if you’re climbing or descending, turning or flying level," Gross said. Experts view the inky skies, the dark ocean, the mid-summer haze, and the lack of landmarks as a deadly combination that may have sent Kennedy unknowingly into a descent from which he could not recover.
Duty can be unpleasant
Duty often goes against feelings in the short term but bring great rewards over the longer term. Paul says it this way in Hebrews. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, for those who have been trained by it, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.” - Hebrews 12
We all have our duty in life
It doesn’t matter who you are. Children have a duty to parents; Adults have a duty to aged parents; Father’s and Mother’s have a duty to their children; slaves (employees or those in debt) have a duty to masters; and masters (employers or lenders) have a duty to those in their lives.
Whoever you are you have a duty to someone else. (not for them – to them)
What is the duty? It is best expressed through what we call the “Golden Rule”
“Therefore, whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus – Matthew
I heard it powerfully illustrated through the gift of a little old lady. In an interview on PBS on May 30, 2002 Father Lindon Harris of St. Pauls Cathedral – that’s the church at what was the foot of the World Trade Center – George Washington worshipped there at one time – told a story of duty.
It seems that an Elderly Black woman heard a about a man who had hurt his leg searching for survivors and clearing rubble at ground zero. She walked from her apartment to the area and talked her way through the security, which was no easy task at that time, and came to the church. There she gave her cane and hobbled off without it.
They still have cane. It serves as a reminder of the selfless sacrifice that love and duty demands.
Live with Honor… not with shame
WHY? - THAT IT MAY GO WELL FOR YOU AND THAT YOU MAY HAVE A LONG LIFE ON THE EARTH
Honor your father and mother!
This is not just for them – the parents… (although it benefits them!)
I am very proud of my girls – all of them.
I am very proud of my boys – best news about girls is you get boys eventually! - a little scary getting there!
This is for you…
When you live in a way that brings honor to your parents you get two things
A long and full life!
Honor them by living in a way that brings pride – not shame. Gives them pride rather than shame.
Here is a good question to be asked of yourself as is centered on this concept.
"If my activities were to be known publicly would they bring honor or disgrace upon to my parents and others?"
Now if you have made a mess of this life and brough shame to your parents let me share the good news – as a general rule Parents are very forgiving. And your spiritual father is always forgiving!
You can start Over. Have you ever had a bad meal at a good restaurant. It can be a terrific experience!
Some time ago, Richard and Kate Porter had an experience of what could beI described as "High Performance Customer Service." It occurred on a Saturday, on a cold winter’s day in Toronto.
They arrived at a prominent four-star hotel at around four o’clock in the afternoon, ready for a late lunch. The restaurant staff was most accommodating. Kate ordered a stir-fry of some sort, and when it arrived, the real adventure began.
Nestled neatly in Kate’s stir-fry was the tip of a
finger from a latex glove. I called the waitress. "What is this?" Kate inquired with an appropriate level of indignation. "I’m not sure," replied the waitress as she whisked the plate away to the kitchen.
In less than a minute the waitress returned with the maitre d’. "Madame, we have made a dreadful mistake and apologize sincerely." So far so good. "Let us start over," the maitre d’ continued. "Remove everything from the table," he instructed the waitress. The waitress proceeded to remove everything - the wine, the cutlery, my food, the tablecloth - everything! "Let us erase the memory," said the maitre d’.
The table was reset, menus presented and new wine and food ordered. They were on our way once again to a fantastic lunch.
The maitre d’ took a bad service impression and replaced it with an outstanding one. He did not deny the experience, but substituted a higher, richer one in its place. The food was good, the service superlative. And the meal was complimentary.
Our father – through his son Jesus – allows us to do the same and then he helps us live a different life!
Live to Serve… not to obtain
FOR YOU KNOW THAT EVERYONE WILL RECEIVE A REWARD FROM THE LORD FOR WHATEVER GOOD HE HAS DONE, WHETHER HE IS SLAVE OR FREE.
People who work hard to get recognition here – have all they will ever receive – here
“So whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow a trumpet before you like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they will be praised by people. Truly I tell you, they have their full reward!”
Jesus - Matthew 6:2Man that’s living
One of my favorite stories (my dad used to tell this story )is of the bigger than life Texan – you know – the kind who drives a big caddie with steer horns as a hood ornament who died. At his request he was buried in his big pink Caddie. The top was down, he was sitting upright behind the wheel with a big stogie in his lips. One of the grave diggers turned to a friend as they started shoveling dirt and said, “Man that’s living!”
No – that’s dying and he’s got his reward – paid in full.
There really will be a star in your crown in eternity. There will be rewards.
Rewards here and now – there and then
A Full life; a Good life; and a Long life
And no regrets!
Recently a friend of mine made a commitment to Christ. His life so changed that his peers noticed and one of them came into his office and asked about the changes he saw. When he was told that it was Jesus the friend immediately said that he didn’t believe in God. My friend said, “If I’m wrong and there is no life after life – Then this is as good as it gets – kind of depressing sometimes and downright devastating at other times. But if I’m right and there is life with God after life here with God then this is as bad as it gets.”
Good answer and he was right. The Christian life is a life of duty, honor and service but it is a good life that only gets better.
Ready? Choose how you will live.
