Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:4,5
A friend once took me to a baseball collectables auction. To say that I know nothing about old baseball cards and balls is a great big understatement. Even as a kid, when baseball cards were giveaways inside bubble gum wrappers, I did one of two things with them.
My immediate thought was to just throw them away. The players on the cards didn’t mean anything to me. All those numbers and statistics printed on the back didn’t mean anything to me. I really didn’t care about them. Or there was one other thing I might do.
Grabbing one of my mom’s cloths pins, I’d put the card on the frame of my bike so it would make a machine gun like sound when I rode down the street.
So, I’m sitting in this auction and there’s a buzz in the room. People are looking so carefully at all these cards in plastic cases. They gently inspect the front and back. They turn the cards around so they can inspect every corner. Every edge. Some even use a magnifying glass, looking for any imperfection.
When I asked my friend what was going on, they patiently explained that for a card to get the most money, it had to be perfect. No bends. No nicks. No smudges or stains. Not a hint of wear or any damage.
As the auction ended, everyone seemed pleased. The sellers talked about how much money they made. How they got the best possible price for their rare and valuable cards and collectables. The buyers boasted that they should almost be arrested for robbery. The only got great, great deals for everything they bought.
Looking back at that night, there was some great people watching. Everyone was trying to hide their true thoughts and feelings before and during the auction. I also learned a lot about baseball collectables and the passionate people that are really into it
But I also learned a great deal about something else. Something that’s talked about but not seen very often. Everyone says that it’s a great thing, but very, very few people are up to the task. Hardly anyone wants to go to the trouble or pain involved. And what’s that one thing?
Honor. Yes, honor. Bet you weren’t thinking about that word. Now, were you? One of the things that makes honor so hard to think about is coming up with a practical way to describe it. A definition that we can understand. Something that’s practical.
So, here’s a way to think about honor that’s understandable to everyone. Even me. Instead of trying to describe honor in words, try giving a number about honor. Why? Because honor basically is responding to the great value given to a person. They have honor because they are worth a lot. Their preciousness is recognized and responded to.
Now there are some people who are downright angry with me right now. First, they’re thinking about when God said that we’re to honor our parents. Then they’re thinking about all the dishonorable things their parents did. Then they’re pointing their finger at God and blaming him for the huge mistake he made. And then they’re pointing their finger at me. They’ve come to the point of just chucking this whole honor thing into the trash.
And I get it. I fought this same battle with God. Against God. But over time I found out that there’s two kinds of honor. The problems we experience about honor come when we confuse and mix-up these different honors.
Given Honor. What’s the difference between a $1 bill and a $100 bill? They’re made with the same paper. Printed with the same ink. Made at the same place and on the same printing presses. But the $100 bill’s been given a different value. Assigned a greater honor. The same is true with God. He gives honor to certain people in positions of responsibility. He says that because of their role or position, that he’s given them value, so we need to honor them.
Earned Honor. They’ve done the kind of things in and through their lives that earns them honor. They were kind and generous. They spent time with family and friends. They gave to the poor. They told the truth in a way that people could receive. And, when needed, they could take an unpopular position, standing up for the truth.
God gives great honor to marriage and sexual purity. It may not be popular to say or write these words, but that doesn’t change the value that God has given to them. We can jump up and down all we want. We can yell that it’s unfair. That it restricts our freedom and choice.
And while all those things are true, it doesn’t change the fact that God has given his blessing to both marriage and sexual purity. They tell us a story about who God is and how he made us. That he wants an exclusive, transparent, and intimate relationship with us. And he made it possible through Jesus. By listening to who and what God gives honor to, we can live a great and meaningful life of purpose on this earth.
Noodling Questions
Why are some baseball cards almost worthless and others are in the millions?
Personalize the difference between given honor and earned honor.
How has sexual purity been made unimportant? Why?
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