"… outdo one another in showing honor." Romans 12:10
We are told to not only love one another but to honor one another. This comes with some specific applications like honor your father and mother or honor those in authority over you. But it also applies to the Body of Christ in general. We are to be eager, even strive to outdo one another, to show honor.
So, what does it mean to honor? Our dictionary says it is to regard with respect or to esteem. The Biblical perspective is to recognize someone’s inherent value and worth, that everyone is made in the image of God.
I am valuable, and so are you, because we are valuable to God. It is nothing we have done to earn that value, and we have no ability to increase (or decrease) it, but it is an innate value based on being created by God. This is not bestowing value on someone, it is recognizing and highlighting that value they already have.
Paul told the Romans to show one another honor. Our outward honoring stems from our inward honoring. If we hold some contempt or superiority toward others, we will not be able to sustain the outward honor for long. Our hearts must conform to His so we can truly see others as God sees them. Then we can listen respectfully to those we disagree with, give dignity to the downtrodden, uplift the difficult. Once we truly honor one another in our heart, what a glorious unity we will have in rushing to show that honor to one another. And the world will know we are His by our treatment of one another.
Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. 1 Peter 2:17
