Everyone needs wise others to speak into their life to sharpen, encourage, and inspire. My good friend, Collin, is one of those pivotal people for me. As we sat together last weekend, we found ourselves toying with current culture\u2026 what\u2019s healthy\u2026 what\u2019s not\u2026 how do we navigate through? Collin always encourages what\u2019s better\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s talk about honor. People mistake what it is.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n While honor means to place value on or highly regard, honor is nothing short of humility in action.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re honoring another it\u2019s not that you are thinking less of yourself. Consistent with humility, it means thinking about yourself less. We should be outdoing one another in our intentional expressions of honor.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But there\u2019s a huge challenge obstructing each of us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The challenge is that we don\u2019t live in a culture of honor. In fact, strikingly sadly, we live in a culture in which the manifestation of humility is <\/em>not<\/em><\/strong> taught or encouraged. We live in a culture that encourages us to see others not only as wrong \u2014 but as <\/em>worthless.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about that for a minute. Worthless.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA culture of contempt presents us with a false choice \u2014 that we have to choose between strong beliefs and close relationships,\u201d writes Arthur Brooks, the Harvard professor. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve set up this whole narrative of false choices, choices that allow us to see another person as worthless or actually deserving of our scorn. For example\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you support Black Lives Matter, you hate cops. That\u2019s a false choice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you take a knee during the National Anthem, you are anti-patriotic. Again, false choice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are against taking a knee, you are anti-civil rights. False choice. If you voted for _____, you must be _____. Fill in the blank with whoever\/whatever you wish; it\u2019s still a false choice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A culture of contempt is sustained by a narrative of false choices.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n When Ellen DeGeneres and former Pres. George W. Bush enjoyed an NFL game together a week ago \u2014 as discussed on the Intramuralist \u2014 the reason for the resulting social media outrage was the existence of this culture of contempt. A culture of honor instead allows for differences to thrive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So <\/em>why<\/em><\/strong> do we honor? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We honor because all men and women are created equal. We are crafted by our Creator. In other words, whether we realize it or not, God\u2019s image and signature is on every person\u2026 on us\u2026 on everybody else\u2026 even when they don\u2019t think, look or love like us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n How <\/em><\/strong>to we honor?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We honor intentionally. Are you purposeful about valuing and esteeming others around you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We honor generously. Are you generous with your words? \u2026 resources, service, and affection? Do you ever intentionally withhold one, some, or all of the above because you think the other is undeserving? That\u2019s not honor. And make no mistake about it; we cannot honor God when we are dishonoring the people he created. (Maybe read that sentence again.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We also honor humbly. Are you willing to feel a little awkward to show honor to someone else? Remember: this is humility in action.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, how much better our neighborhoods, workplaces, families and social media hangouts would be if we attempted to outdo each other with honor\u2026 if we contemplated what we said and how we said it \u2026 if we stopped slamming <\/em>anyone<\/em><\/strong> on social media\u2026 if we stopped avoiding or not talking to\u2026 but instead engaged in honoring interactions\u2026 if we put humility in action.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not going to happen until we decide to do it in our individual communities; it starts with you and me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Who do each of us need to start honoring?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Everyone needs wise others to speak into their life to sharpen, encourage, and inspire. My good friend, Collin, is one of those pivotal people for me. As we sat together last weekend, we found ourselves toying with current culture\u2026 what\u2019s healthy\u2026 what\u2019s not\u2026 how do we navigate through? Collin always encourages what\u2019s better\u2026 Let\u2019s talk … <\/p>\n
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\nNo, we live in a culture of contempt\u2026 <\/em>contempt!
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