Kingdom Honor is a powerful principle that produces multiplied effectiveness in the lives of believers who faithfully apply honor in every area of their lives. The principle of honoring will bring multiplication to your life wherever you apply it. If you give honor to your marriage, your marriage will become unbreakable and reach greater heights. If you show honor to your children, valuing them by spending quality time with them, training them, and being a godly example, your kids will grow into kingdom warriors. If you implement honor at your workplace, you will experience promotion, increase, job security, and supernatural influence. If you apply honor at your church, your gifting will have an eternal impact and your calling will come to fruition. The list goes on and on.
The meaning of the word honor1 is to esteem, elevate, and hold someone in high regard and high value. When we honor the leaders that God has placed in our lives, we walk in true humility and when we humble ourselves, God gives us the grace needed to fulfill our callings. For us to effectively serve our leaders, God wants to refine and mold us into who we were created to be. The humble are those who God promotes. Unfortunately, most Christians do not understand what honor truly is or how important it is in the Kingdom of God.
In today’s culture, we are seeing a tremendous lack of honor, particularly towards those in all manners of secular authority. Likewise, the sad truth is we also are seeing dishonor toward church leadership. As Christians, we are instructed to honor our church leaders, valuing them with great respect. It is a mandate for Christians.
“…honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work…” (1 Thessalonians 5:12 NLT)
Though not always recognized as such, the local church is a Kingdom—a Kingdom that is an authority with order and structure. Yet, some people treat church like a social club or think of it as a Sunday hangout spot. Satan wants Christianity to become a culture that devalues the local church and its leaders. His goal is to ultimately tear down the Kingdom of God. In these last days, ministry is becoming more difficult for leaders. Here are some startling statistics on ministry leaders 2:
57% can’t pay their bills
54% of ministry leaders are overworked
43% are overstressed
34% battle discouragement
26% are overly fatigued
24% have a difficult time recruiting volunteers
These statistics provide insight into the culture of the body of Christ and explains why many churches are closing their doors and ministry leaders are throwing in the towel. One of the biggest burdens God has placed on me is to see the local church strengthened, and for that to happen, its leaders must be strengthened.
I have served as my Pastor’s personal assistant for the last seven years and I have seen the positive impact honor has made not only on him but also on his ministry. I have also served as a ministry leader and can attest to the fact that leaders need members of the body to come alongside them to help fulfill the vision God has for their ministry.
You and I can make a significant impact on our cities and churches by serving the leaders God has placed in our lives with honor.
Just as Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms during battle when he was exhausted, we must hold up our leader’s arms. We must lighten the load, come alongside them, and help carry their burden.
When the church honors its leaders and serves the vision of the pastor, there will be unity, and it is here where God commanded His blessing (see Psalm 133). When that blessing is on a church or ministry team, the members of that church become unstoppable in their communities. Remember, honor is the key to multiplication, that exponential increase of effectiveness in ministry, and in the blessings of God within our lives.
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