Nobody embarks on a long journey without a luggage…no matter how small of a luggage, right? And there are always travel essentials…like those things we’ll need while still on the journey or those things we’ll need in other to gain access to our destination or say those things we really can’t do without and we’re not sure we’ll find them, as we like them, when we get to our destination. When you pay attention to just your travel essentials, your luggage will be lighter and it will help your journey run fast and smooth.
So, please permit me to ask, whether within or across borders…what are your travel essentials?
If you don’t have a “travel essential checklist”, you probably should create one. It’ll help you get ready for every journey.
Now,
How about your journey through life…what are your travel essentials when it comes to the journey of life? Have you ever given it a thought?
OK, I believe every Christian should have a list that’s unique to them but let’s try to come up with a general list that will cover every Christian. Let’s call the items we’ll be putting on the list “Foundational Essentials.” Now, this might be a difficult one to do, but let’s just try. OK….Hmmmm…let’s say:
God’s Word…and of course, Faith to go with it
The Fruit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit…
And then, a heart of prayer…or say a desire to pray always…and…
Worthy companions…I mean, people that help you be and do all God wants you to be and do
OK
I’ll just have to stop there, because I want to believe as Christians, we can all agree to the items listed above, right?
Now, let’s look at the first foundational essential on our list…God’s Word. I believe this particular essential holds a whole lot. It is actually a map that will help us navigate easily. It shows us areas that are off limits, areas that are MUST turns etc. God’s Word says a whole lot to us, and if we can just pay close attention to it…read and live out what it says, life’s journey will not be short of beautiful. In other words, we can say that God’s Word holds so many other essentials that we need in this journey through life. I pray we never get tired of just opening the Word, daily, and see what God will have us see, so we can be all He’ll have us be and do all He’ll have us do.
So, like always, let’s just bring out an essential from God’s Word, and trust that the Holy Spirit will help us become better.
Let’s talk about Honour…a luggage I believe we should carry along in life’s journey
I mean respect and admiration for people. Now when I say respect and admiration for people, the first thing that might probably come to mind is… “Well, we can’t respect and admire everyone”… and my respond will be, “wait for it…”
I’m not saying we should honour things that are dishonourable. I’m saying to an extend we knowingly or unknowingly don’t really respect and admire people the way we should, and I just want to use this blog post to point out some of these areas. They might not come as explicitly as you expect and want them to come, but I trust the Holy Spirit to help you see the very heart of this post.
First,
I just want to say that more often than none; the people you encounter were sent your way by God…especially if you’re a Christian that’s so intentional about surrendering very area of your life to God.
These persons might not be on the same level with you, intellectually, spiritually, socially etc…but they might be send your way for a particular reason and purpose, and that’s exactly why we should be careful how we treat people. If you dishonor a thing, you’ll not get the blessing that comes with that thing.
These people might even be a pain in our lives, yet they’re there to teach us something…and if we don’t get past the pain they’re causing us, we’ll just get so angry and irritated, and might never understand why we had/have them in our life.
We are commanded to love others as we are loved by God. Truth is: you can never truly show love to someone you dishonor. So you see, honouring people is way beyond how we feel about them or how they feel about us. We honour people because of whom and Whose we are. We’re the salt of the earth; we’re supposed to bring out the flavour in people. We’re the light of the world; we’re supposed to eliminate darkness in people. More importantly, we’re fellow heirs with Christ.
So, when I say honour, it’s not about accepting any and every thing or defiling our personal values and beliefs. I’m saying there are ways we can honour people and at that level we should pay attention to it, give in our best and don’t take it for granted.
Now, let me just go ahead and list some areas I believe we should pay attention to:
Words… Words are BIGGER than Words
Dear one, how do you talk to people? Never let a word or a group of words escape the bars guarding your mouth, if you haven’t premeditated on them carefully. Learn to speak beautifully…even when you’re very angry…learn to choose your words. One of the most beautiful sights to behold is a person that has an active vocabulary that is birthed out of purity, honesty, humility, gentleness, peace and self-control.
One of the major signs of human growth is that a child begins to speak; one of the major signs of human maturity is that someone begins to speak beautifully.
Never take your words for granted. Words have the power to build or tear down. Words are seeds. When we release them, we plant them, and they have the ability to grow. So, what are you sowing into people?
Ephesians 4:26, 27 and 29 says, “When angry do not sin… Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil—give no opportunity to him… Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word, nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth; but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favour) to those who hear it.” (AMPC)
Colossians 4:6 says, “Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, and not cut them out.” (MSG)
Actions… Actions should be Pleasant Acts
It’s very easy to just act the way you want to act, because it’s always what comes naturally. But as Christians, we have to understand that our actions matter a whole lot. We are expected to act as Christ. He is our standard.
One day the Holy Spirit told me that maturity is holding back anger and not allowing it affect your words and actions, even if what stirred the anger is still staring you right in the face. This sounded like an also impossible task for me, because I felt, “how will they know they’re wrong and I’m not happy if I don’t communicate my frustration through my words and actions?” But I had to learn yet again that if God says I can…then I can. And that royalty has class. When we decide to allow the Holy Spirit train us…then we can achieve it. So try doing it; just decide not to act for the first few minutes the next time you’re angry and see how you’ll feel about it. It will make sense to you, and when it does you’ll want to have that same feeling again and again and again…now, this is how we yield to the Holy Spirit in training…we step out in faith and He comes through for us.
Funny thing is, most times we aren’t even angry. We just act funny and just move on. We just do things the way we feel like, and we don’t really care how it affects anybody. This is very wrong. It is super selfish. It is not godly.
Yes, when we act the wrong way we can repent of it and of course, God’s mercy is always available for us…but truth be told; when a harm is done, we most times can’t undo it. And the people we wrong don’t always move on as fast as we could, and that means we put them in a position to sin…plus the devil will always try to use it against us, he’ll always remind us of it.
Let our actions match the Gospel that we preach. Let’s tell people about Jesus and then live out characteristics that do match our sermon. If you’re ever going to be harsh to anyone with your actions or words, then it should be that you’re led by the Holy Spirit. Now, if that’s the case, then we’re sure that the result will be what God intended it to be.
I don’t have it all figured out, and I don’t believe anyone has it all figured out. But, we can decide to keep getting better. We can decide to move from where we are currently…to a better place, and just keep moving.
Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do—no matter what it is—in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him.” (AMPC)
Now this might sound funny, but try it; try putting the name of Jesus before you act all rude, harsh, annoying, and selfish. Try saying a prayer and thanking Jesus, because He’s going to help you out with your rude plan…harsh plan…annoying plan…selfish plan.
Long story short: if you can’t do it in the name of Jesus, then you shouldn’t do it.
What we choose to bring out of people… When you honour people you dig out the gold in them
You should try it out. When you actually choose to respect someone and the person gets to recognize it, most times, you’ll get the best out of the person. It is only a few persons in the entire world (I believe) that will recognize that they are being honoured and will refuse to act right. Most persons will immediately follow your lead, when you decide to honour them. Try it with the driver of the next taxi you board. Speak to him nicely and see what his respond will be.
God placed greatness on the inside of everyone He created. We all have gold on the inside of us, but most of us have covered our greatness with dirt and filth…and people wouldn’t want to get past all of that and start digging…and who can blame anyone? At the end of the day we are all responsible for ourselves.
Nonetheless, as Christian, we should take it upon ourselves to address the greatness that’s buried on the inside of everyone God sends our way. That was what Jesus did while He was on earth. He didn’t leave anyone the same way He met the person, even in His hometown where He was rejected, the Bible records that He still healed a few persons. Jesus expects us to do greater works than what He did while He was on earth. That means…He has given us all it takes to do the “greater works.” So, heaven is waiting on us.
We’re called to make disciples of ALL nations (Matthew 28:19)… ALL nations…not the few we’re comfortable with.
Our different originalities… There’s no another you in the whole wide world…so if you find someone that can do it exactly like you, then you should be worried, because it means one of you have stolen the other’s identity
I’ve come to discover for myself that some of the times we’re angry and mad at people; our anger is because they didn’t meet our specific expectations. So, let’s talk about expectations for just a moment. Do you really believe that everyone can do it the way you would have done it yourself? Yes, there’s a possibility, and that means the person has taken the time to really study you, but truth be told; even at such instances we’ll still notice some areas that are lacking originality.
So, as much as possible, clearly, communicate your expectations in other to avoid disappointments, but let’s also have it at the center of our hearts that most times, nobody can ever do something the exact way we want it to be done, if we aren’t there to supervise and monitor it ourselves. When we always remember this truth, it’ll help us appreciate people better.
I wish I can quote all of 1 Corinthians 12: 18-30. You should go back and read it for yourself. It tells us how we’re different parts of the body of Christ and how we all function differently to make the body of Christ function as one. Now, this is of course referring to people that are already in Christ…but even the one that is yet to accept the offering of Jesus has a unique personality. Sadly, most times he/she wouldn’t know, until an encounter with Christ.
So, always understand that the nose and ear can never be the same. Let the nose be the nose, and let the ear be the ear…yet, let them agree and function together.
Finally,
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour.” Romans 10:12 (EVS)
“Show respect to all men—treat them honourably. Love the brotherhood. Reverence God…” 1 Peter 2:17 (AMPC)
“We who are strong [in our conviction and of robust faith] ought to bear with the failings and frailties and the tender scruples of the weak. We ought to help carry the doubts and qualms of others—and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him—that is to strengthen him and build him up spiritually.” Romans 15:1-2 (AMPC)
Philippians 2:3-4 tell us to put others first. Verse 5-11 went ahead to show Jesus as the perfect example. Jesus was essentially one with God but stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity so as to assume the guise of a servant…because of man…because of you…because of me.
You can never get it at once because there’s no end to it…there will always be a deeper level to dive…there’ll always be a higher level to climb…so, start moving and keep moving…with the bag of honour. Honour people. Honour people even when they are not around. If their choices are obviously wrong, pray for them. If they irritate you, pray for them. If they wrong you, pray for them. If you can never get close to them, from afar…pray for them. When you begin to see the fruit of your efforts, trust me, you’ll be glad, and it will encourage you to keep moving…moving with HONOUR.
My prayer for you:
I pray you learn to see how God treats you. I pray you see how He loves and admires you. I pray you learn to see that He respects your choices and decisions and don’t push and will never push His will on you. I pray this knowledge makes you draw closer to God…and I pray it also helps you love, admire and respect others the exact same way.
Amen.
Get in the gym now…and do
Stay Spiritually Fit.
