Humble Honor

The honor of men is easy – easy to seek… easy to covet… easy to crave… easy to fall for… easy to get trapped by. Jesus knew this all too well, but knew even better the source and value of true honor.

In John 6, we find Jesus revealing Himself as the bread of life in a miraculous feeding of 5,000 men (plus women and children) from a mere five barley loaves and two fish. The crowd, already intrigued by Jesus’ teaching and healing, now proclaimed that indeed He must be the Prophet (Messiah) now come into the world.

But Jesus knew the messiah they were seeking… a militaristic king to overthrow their Roman oppressors and re-establish Israel.

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.

John 6:15

The principle and spirit of humility is broken in seeking or succumbing to the honor of men. Even more devastating, the call of God upon our lives can be disrupted and even defeated. Neither Israel’s nationalism nor the establishing of any earthly kingdom lay within the realm of Jesus’ calling and purpose – as He clearly told Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36-37)

As our perfect example, Jesus fled from worldly temptation and sought the Father – alone in His prayerful place.

May we be so discerningly humble and faithful to receive only the honor God intends and to avoid the false and temporal honor that only comes from the world… however well-intentioned, yet misguided it is at best. The consequences can be eternal.