Honor

I have been living among a group of people who highly value giving honor to one another. I have seen the results and am compelled to share about it here.

First, the results:

• Every person has dignity and is spoken of and treated highly regardless of title, race or circumstances.
• There is safety to be vulnerable and honest about struggles with one another.
• People eagerly and enthusiastically serve the needs of others.
• Gossip is abnormal and assertively discouraged.
• People hold their heads high because they experience unconditional love.

Now, the reasons:

By one Miriam-Webster definition, we give honor to "one whose worth brings respect or fame." In American culture, that means someone with a book, position, title, money and/or a following on Twitter or a blog!

However, in our church, we honor the ones God loves. At its core, the culture of honor I experience at Lifepoint Church is based on understanding the God-given worth and value of every person. People matter to God, so each one matters to us. By modeling and encouragement the leaders at our church have built into the culture a refusal to gossip, an insistence that we speak of people with dignity and honor and that we fill any gap in our understanding of a person or the situation with trust, rather than skepticism and speculation.