HONOR UNLOCKS THE REWARD
Over the years I’ve watched how the importance of honor has both been missing… and displayed.
It 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—with annual budgets in the millions or tens of millions—it’s needless to say I was in for a culture shock.
My previous season was filled with phrases like “get your swag on” and “YOLO”…
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 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.
As an armor bearer by nature—but assistant by role—I bore the brunt of many things from the outside.
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 quickly.
Honor can display itself in different ways…
But Scripture is clear:
Matthew 10:41–42
“He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward…”
The lesson:
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.
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.
Versus the one who shows up late, hasn’t worked on anything, and carries a nonchalant attitude.
One is honoring.
One is dishonoring.
Now apply this spiritually.
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?
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.
Apply this to:
Mentors.
Bosses.
Family.
Friends.
Investment partners.
Church leaders.
Coaches.
Your spouse.
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.
If you’re not seeing good fruit in these relationships…
It might not be them.
It might be your level of honor.
When you honor God through the relationships He’s given you…
Provision, overflow, increase, and blessing are released back into your life.
Romans 12:10
“Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Honor keeps unity.
It elevates others.
It shapes culture.
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.
Mark 6:4–5
Jesus could do no mighty works there…
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.
Final thought:
Honor is the key that unlocks access to the wealth, wisdom, and abundance God placed inside people for your life.