HONOR UNLOCKS THE REWARD
If you’ve ever wondered about growing in honor as a Christian, then this blog is for you.
As a traveling evangelist, I’ve seen first hand how important honor in ministry culture is and the power of honor in spiritual growth.
Over the years I’ve watched how the importance of honor has both been missing… and displayed.
How Does Honor Affect Your Ability to Receive?
Growing in honor as a Christian has a direct effect on how you receive—and even if you’re able to receive at all.
From my early days of college and youth ministry, we did our best with no budgets to have fun and make impact.
Life was filled with pizza parties, all-nighters, video game tournaments, and a host of other age-based cultural activities.
When I stepped into my next season serving in one of the most prominent nonprofits in the Christian realm, I discovered more about honor in ministry culture and how important growing in honor as a Christian would be.
With annual budgets in the millions or tens of millions—it’s needless to say I was in for a culture shock, and I discovered answers to the question, “What does honor mean in leadership?”
My previous season was filled with phrases like “get your swag on” and “YOLO”…
But now, I was stepping into a professional environment:
Suit and tie.
Greeting with intentional honor.
Offering coffee or tea.
Preparing hospitality for every meeting.
Serving at the highest level of excellence at all times.
Late nights. Early mornings.
Always doing whatever it took to put the cherry on top.
I was in the school oof growing in honor as a Christian and discovering the power of honor in a ministry culture.
I do believe I was being excellent in the capacity I had during my college and youth ministry seasons…
But I also know this:
I leveled up in my understanding of honor.
What Does Honor Mean in Leadership?
Growing in honor as a Christian means serving past your stated role and choosing to go above and beyond, every time.
As an armor bearer by nature—but assistant by role—I bore the brunt of many things from the outside…but I did so from the place of honor as a Christian.
What I discovered as I grew in honor as a Christian in that things aren’t always as they seem. When it came to people wanting to meet with the man I was serving, I grew in discernment and honor.
What I found was…
Many had ulterior motives for wanting proximity.
Others were genuine—but lacked basic social awareness and understanding of how they presented themselves.
I had to learn discernment and honor in our ministry culture quickly.
How to Show Honor in Professional Environments
Honor can display itself in different ways…
But Scripture is clear about growing in honor as a Christian and how to show honor in professional environments:
“He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward…”
The lesson about honor?
What you recognize and honor—you receive from.
In life, what you honor you will receive from.
And what you dishonor—you will also receive from.
Everything is seed into what you want to reap.
What Does Honor Mean in Leadership?
Let’s discuss what honor means in leadership:
If you have a coach…
And you’re a player who:
does everything the coach says in practice
works on drills outside of practice
encourages others to buy into the vision
gives full effort and a great attitude
…then naturally, that coach will give you more playing time, more opportunity, and invest in you at a higher level… because you’ve grown in honor and shown up with excellence.
Versus the one who shows up late, hasn’t worked on anything, and carries a nonchalant attitude.
One is honoring.
One is dishonoring.
Now, let’s apply this spiritually.
What Does Honor in Ministry Look Like?
If you have a pastor—according to Hebrews 13:17—who watches over your soul…
Would you not do everything you can to honor them and grow in honor as a Christian?
Think about it:
Do you support them intentionally?
Do you encourage them outside of service?
Do you pray for them?
Do you implement what they preach?
Do you serve?
Do you sow into their life personally—not just the church?
Because if you sow into the life of your pastor…
You will reap from the field of their life and ministry.
You can apply this principle of honor to:
Mentors
Bosses
Family
Friends
Investment partners
Church leaders
Coaches
Your spouse
What Does Honor Look Like in Leadership & Relationships?
Have you ever stopped and asked:
What does honor actually look like in each of these relationships?
If you made even one or two intentional adjustments…
And chose to receive people for who they are in your life—instead of nitpicking their humanity—
You would begin to reap a different harvest. You would see the fruit of growing in honor as a Christian.
If you’re not seeing good fruit in these relationships…
It might not be them.
It might be your level of honor.
Whether you’re honoring others in professional environments, show honor in ministry, or giving honor to those in your family, when you honor God through the relationships He’s given you…something miraculous happens:
Provision, overflow, increase, and blessing are released back into your life.
“Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Growing in honor as a Christian isn’t just a good idea, it’s a Biblical command.
Honor keeps unity.
It elevates others.
It shapes culture.
What Kills Honor?
But one of the greatest killers of honor is this:
Familiarity.
Familiarity makes you casual with what should be valued.
It assumes a seat at the table…
Takes for granted proximity…
And stops intentionally receiving.
When a prophet comes—you don’t treat it casually.
You prepare.
You position yourself.
You steward the moment.
Because dishonor has consequences.
“Jesus couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them”
Dishonor will block the miraculous
and shut down the flow of the power of God.
It limits your ability to receive from the anointing on someone’s life.
Conclusion
Final thought:
Honor is the key that unlocks access to the wealth, wisdom, and abundance God placed inside people for your life.
So, if you’re looking to grow in honor as a Christian and how to steward honor in a ministry culture, start by practicing Romans 12:10. As you endeavor to go above and beyond in showing honor, you will create a culture of honor that will help you through every season of life.
Discover How to Grow in Honor as a Christian on Awaken the Wonder
Are you feeling dull in your faith? Join me each Sunday at 7 PM EST to learn about faith, growing in honor as a Christian, how to show honor in a ministry culture, and get a behind-the-scenes look at what God is doing in the nations!