Av 28
Honor
“Love one another with brotherly affection
[as members of one family],
giving precedence and SHOWING HONOR to one another.” (Rom 12:10 AMPC, emphasis mine)
After a day spent in reading
and studying the Scriptures, I enjoy relaxing in the evening with a good book,
usually a novel. I have always been a fan
of the medieval time period, and for years, I have never really questioned my
interest in that time of history. It has
only been in the last several years that the understanding has finally come to
me. It is all about ‘honor’, which is
one of the dominate themes running through the Word of our Elohim.
Yes, the medieval
time period was forged on the feudal system, where there was one lord, or
master, over extensive lands and people.
However, the ideal master was
the one who genuinely cared for his people, providing for them, and protecting them. Each lord had his own elite band of warriors,
or knights, and the most critical principal that these men lived by was that of
honor and/or shame. What has become
known as the ‘Code of Chivalry’ surprisingly has many of the Ten Words (Ten
Commandments) incorporated into it, and it was by this code of conduct that a
knight was expected to live, and if necessary, die. William Marshall, the first Earl of Pembroke
(1147-1219) is considered to have been the greatest knight that has ever lived,
and had the reputation of honor and integrity; it was, quite simply, his life[1].
And so it should be
with us. We should have the mindset that
everything we do, everything we say, must
bring honor to our Lord, our Master, our King. Everything. We must abdicate the throne of self-rule in
our lives, and recognize that the One who created us is the One in charge. He truly is the ‘feudal lord’, and our
rebellion does not make it any less so.
Something that we should
also remember is that we are never to
bring shame to our fellow man, be he our neighbor or not. When we deliberately bring shame to another person,
with the words out of our mouths, or by any action that has been taken, we are
also bringing shame to our Father, for we have not treated with honor the one who was made in the image of our
Creator. This concept is very parallel
to the historic ‘Code of Chivalry’, for when any type of action was taken against
one belonging to a certain lord, it was as if you had done it to the lord
himself. Bear it in mind, folks; vengeance
belongs to our Elohim (Rom 12:19; Deu 32:35; Ps 94:1-3; Heb 10:30), and He deems
it a righteous thing to repay with affliction those who distress us (see 2The
1:6).
As we approach the
month of Elul, a time when we are to be engaged in looking inward, in those
dark corners of our lives, may we all resolve to live out this ‘Code of
Chivalry’ laid out for us within the pages of Torah, and bring honor and esteem
to the One who formed us.
Amein.
©2018
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