Thursday, September 19, 2013 -- Honouring Others Above Myself

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10 NIV)

God created us to live as honourable people – honouring God, honouring others, and experiencing the joy of living as a person of dignity and honour.  This is the life with God in recovery that is truly satisfying and meaningful.  Anything less leaves us dissatisfied and vulnerable to unhealthy ways of living.  How can we find this good life?

What we believe will cause us to act in an honourable way towards others and in so doing preserve our personal honour.   When we believe in the Loving God of the Bible as our Higher Power, then we are guided by Him and live accountable to His laws.  God, our creator, knows the best way for His creation to live and as we read the Bible we find out what that life looks like.  One of the Pharisees’ religious scholars asked Jesus which of the commandments in all of God’s laws was the most important.  He answered and said that there are two laws on which all of God’s laws are based and that is to love God and love your neighbour. 

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.” (Matthew 22:37-40 MSG)

If we are unsure that God exists or believe that God does not exist, then we will ultimately determine our own behaviour and are only accountable to keep the laws of the country in which we live.  If we break a law, and get caught, then we pay the penalty set by that law for our behaviour.  Governments add to, or remove laws, in the belief that the laws will cause the community to honour one another and protect property.  However, today’s society seems to be on a collision course with the law and appears to be more interested in their individual rights rather than in the common good of society.   Life, without God in it, does not lead to society honouring one another above themselves.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.  The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:1-3 NIV)

When we set our minds to believe that God is real and loves us with an all-embracing love, it will begin to reflect in our behaviour.  There is no way we can receive all the love that God pours out on us and not have it spill over into loving others around us.

©2013 Partners in Hope