Honor is not always sugar coated...

Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

As I read this verse I think of the droves of people who get in their car every Sunday morning and go to church. Many of these people, full from a steady diet of spiritual junk food they are so stuffed by the time they get to church they only have room for a diet coke version of God.

Where I'm I going with this? When Sunday morning is the only "good" thing in someone's spiritual diet it is no wonder that this verse is so difficult for many.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should not only live to honor one another above ourselves but part of that is to encourage one another into a deeper relationship with God.

By helping each other draw near to God, surely we honor each other with great blessing. However, in this society, honoring our neighbor has become some notion of staying out of their business. Yet your neighbor may need you to honor them with tough questions or challenges that bring them closer to God.

To treat me with honor means to rebuke me when I need to be. It does not mean to puff me up even when I am on the wrong path. Honor is not always sugar coated, it can be tough yet an act of great love and compassion on your brother.