We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Nate Hemphill.
Bible Reading:
1 Corinthians 13:5
“… [love does not] dishonor….“
Word:
Where does the fleshly desire to dishonor come from? For some of us, we probably think that we don’t go out of our way to intentionally dishonor anyone. But if you inspect a little bit closer, you might find yourself falling into more subtle forms of dishonor, like gossip or even an unhealthy competitive desire to bring someone down a notch in an effort to feel better-than they.
In a marriage relationship, I’ve learned that I am a full-time representative of my wife; and so my words and actions reflect upon her and hers on me. In today’s scripture passage, we’re told very bluntly that true love “does not dishonor others.” This means that as followers of Christ we should constantly be checking our motives and ensuring that we aren’t falling into traps that would result in us insulting, defaming or pulling down other people.
Jealousy can be a nasty root of dishonor because those feelings of resentment can and do often lead to judgement and shame-projection. When we stop to consider that when we were deserving of judgement, shame and punishment, Christ bore our sins upon himself. In an instant, all of the dishonor that we were due was wiped away, and in its place we were rewarded with eternal life, communion with God, blessing, favor and honor. This is the starting point that we should all be living from to break any semblance of dishonor from our lives.
Prayer:
Lord God please make me more aware of any places in my life where I might be bringing dishonor to another person and thus to you. My heart is to be an ambassador for your kingdom. Please eradicate this fleshly desire from my life. In Jesus name, Amen.
Skillwork:
Let’s get real here gang – are there any weeds of dishonor growing in our garden? Let’s start by acknowledging these overt and subtle places in our lives knowing that God has already forgiven us for them, now He’s seeking to free us from it all together.
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