Jehovah's Witnesses Straight Talk - Forum/Blog

HONORING ONE ANOTHER

Romans 12:10 In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate one to another; in honor preferring one another;

Can we truly love someone without honoring them? We might love someone, but we may not want them around our friends; certainly that isn’t “honoring them”, and it not real love, it is a selfish immature love.

Heb. 2:12 saying, "I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."{Psalm 22:22}

Truthfully, we are kidding ourselves when we say we love someone, but are ashamed of them in some facet of our life. Yes, and we have all done that, we know we have because when we are treated that way by others it really hurts.

Luke 12:9 but he who denies me in the presence of men will be denied in the presence of the angels of God.

The Worlds Standards of Honoring

The world has standards and we all intuitively know them; in the world honoring someone is little more than those higher than ourselves that have position of power, and/or are famous. We may be in a religions where we honor those at the top, we go out of our way to meet them and greet them it makes us look and feel good. Who we know is important it can give us prestige in other eyes, we can gain position and power if we honor the right people, correct?

James. 2:1 My brothers, don't hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality.
2:2 For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue{or, meeting}, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in;
2:3 and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing, and say, "Sit here in a good place;" and you tell the poor man, "Stand there," or "Sit by my footstool;"
2:4 haven't you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

However, is that God’s standards of honor? That a sobering question when considering God honors the least of mankind, and Christ stated it would be how we treat the least of his brothers that our enteral life would be judge by!

Matthew 25:40 "The King will answer them, 'Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers{The word for "brothers" here may be also correctly translated "brothers and sisters" or "siblings."}, you did it to me.'

So just what is honor?

Noun. honor, homage, reverence, deference mean respect and esteem shown to another. Honor may apply to the recognition of one's right to great respect or to any expression of such recognition.

high respect; great esteem.
"his portrait hangs in the place of honor"

regard with great respect.
"they honor their parents in all they did"

Can Honor be an Obligation, or an Act by God’s Standards?

Lets make this clear God is not an act, nor does he flatter us to gain respect or control of us. Moreover, God is truth that mean any type of act by him would be a lie.

2 Corinthians 4:2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Plus, we should remember God’s standards are not accepted by this world but it does not mean they don’t exist and that they haven’t existed forever. If we believe the truth then we would know what our bibles tells us; all humans lie, and are liars, simply because they do put on acts around people they like and dislike.

Romans 3:4 May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, "That you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment."{Psalm 51:4}

1 John 1:10 If we say that we haven't sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

God’s standard are told us in our bibles that they are higher than any power on this earth. Those power are represented as mountains over mankind. But God’s mountain, where Christ Jesus stands have standard exceeding the heights and power of all mankind's

Micah 4:1 But in the latter days, it will happen that the mountain of Yahweh's temple will be established on the top of the mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills; and peoples will stream to it.

Micah 4:2 Many nations will go and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem;

We are told that our ways are not God’s ways, our best thoughts and intention are not God’s standards.

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says Yahweh.

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

No human can be on God’s mountain accept those God rebirths into a new person by the power of Christ Jesus blood.

Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels,

Revelation 14:1 I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.

Do we show God’s honor to our brothers and sisters in Christ?

No we don’t, because our standards are the world standards for honor, we simply can’t honor someone when we think they are less than us, or don’t meet what we think Christ standards are.

Jeremiah 10:23 Yahweh, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

The field is not level for human existing in sins, God is abundantly correct when he says mankind cannot direct their own steps. That is, even in our best efforts to honor God we still sin against each other by not showing God’s honor to each other.

1 Peter 2:17 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Honor tells on our heart

Honor really does tell on us if we love the light. Now lets not confuse this word light with an excuse. Light means truth, not the truth about someone else, but us! Do we come to the light and examine who we are in the light?

John 3:21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God."

John 8:12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world.{Isaiah 60:1} He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."

We may think I am a good person a person that loves God, but when we measure ourselves against truth and Spirit and not someone else we find we fail far short of honoring all human’s, but the ones we admire!

Titus.3:1 Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
3:2 to speak evil of no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all humility toward all men. 3:3 For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
3:4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, 3:5 not by works of righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.

We can’t admit it but we are telling on ourselves we think we are better than others, and than we justify our position by using God’s word the bible, but are justify we?

Not really, all sin and fall short of God’s glory, so what is left from there? Nothing, if God does not honor us?

Well, nothing! If God does not value our life we have no future life at all. God honor person that are worthy of death because they are sinners. If God were a phony like we humans are to each other there would not be a chance in one of his promises. Moreover, if God were obligated to do something he would not be love, and all of the talk about love would be just as phony as human love, here today and gone tomorrow, that is, when something gets in the way of our interest.

Luke 1:52 He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly.

1 Corinthians 1:28 and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are:

Matthew 10:29 "Aren't two sparrows sold for an assarion coin{An assarion is a small coin worth one tenth of a drachma or a sixteenth of a denarius. An assarion is approximately the wages of one half hour of agricultural labor.}? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father's will.

Luke.15:7 I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
15:8 Or what woman, if she had ten drachma{A drachma coin was worth about 2 days wages for an agricultural laborer.} coins, if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn't light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it?
15:9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost.'
15:10 Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting."

Nothing shows the truth of our hearts more than whom we honor; the least, or the greatest, do we have to act like we are honoring the least to justify the falseness in our own heart?

Do we honor ourselves more than God?

Yes, it true if we lie to ourselves to honor God by words alone. According to our bible such action dishonor God. God does not say act like you honor others, nor does he say “that's what I do, so I understand”. No! He doesn’t, God hates lies and hates phony’s!

God does not understand evil, God expose evil and destroys it at his due time! What God ask from us is to speak truth with each other, not make excuses for not meeting his requirements of truth and Spirit.

2 Corinthians 2:17 For we are not as so many, peddling the word of God. But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.

The truth field is leveled by our honesty

We should love truth and seek it, but the truth is, its the last place we want to be when its about us. We as human want group approval at the cost of dishonoring God, we want common ground so we don’t feel uncomfortable with our true heart condition. Thus, we seek out those like us that will justify our incongruity in words and actions.

Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn't be a servant of Christ.

However, if we seek truth at great pain to ourselves we find only one point that explains and gives us hope in all of God’s word too us, which is called grace, or undeserved kindness/unmerited kindness!

Rom. 7:18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don't find it doing that which is good.
7:19 For the good which I desire, I don't do; but the evil which I don't desire, that I practice.
7:20 But if what I don't desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
7:21 I find then the law, that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present. 7:22 For I delight in God's law after the inward man,
7:23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. 7:24 What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death?
7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God's law, but with the flesh, the sin's law.

If we have accepted Christ and the process of being brought to greater light which is on going we must and will come to the point of knowing none of us are any better than anyone else and its simply by God own love and kindness we are being saved.

Luke.18:9 He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others.
18:10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.
18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: 'God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
18:12 I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.'
18:13 But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

However, many stop at hiding place of false actions and words to look good too others. In that they form yeast paddies instead of eating the painful unleavened bread of Christ. They judge themselves worthy or unworthy instead of accepting in humility God’s precious undeserved gift to them, Christ Jesus merit by his precious righteous blood.

Proverbs 15:26 Yahweh detests the thoughts of the wicked, but the thoughts of the pure are pleasing.

Proverbs 20:23 Yahweh detests differing weights, and dishonest scales are not pleasing.

John 5:41 I don't receive glory from men.

John 5:44 How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don't seek the glory that comes from the only God?

John 7:18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

They have made themselves into no more than a phony liar the very thing they hate in others, a simpleton that puts on act at a fine meal with airs of snobbery then goes home an acts uncouth pig having no manners. Or like the religious person that acts so sweet and nice at Christian’s gathers while being rude and inconsiderate driving home or shopping. Being nice to the face and hateful on the internet is detestable to God, and man.

Romans 3:13 "Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit."{Psalm 5:9} "The poison of vipers is under their lips;"{Psalm 140:3}

Mark 7:6 He answered them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Personal Gain

The world survives and thrives on personal gain it is a foundation stone of all relationships. If God were like us, we would find ourselves indebted as a slave for all eternity. Car salesman honor and flatter their clients for a personal gain. Moreover, that is true of every form of government, business, and religion. The trouble is that the majority of Christian’s think God is little more than a salesman that He needs to save clients for bragging rights against the Devil. It a numbers game, the better the numbers the more we are right and proved we are in the right!

Isa.43:7 everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.'"
43:8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears. 43:9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, "That is true."
43:10 "You are my witnesses," says Yahweh, "With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me.
43:11 I myself am Yahweh; and besides me there is no savior.

But the truth is which is shocking to salesman Christian’s God is love, and love can’t fail, nor is it working like we human do too be loved! God is not working to make us love him, never, not once, God is love and if we don’t understand that we don’t know God.

You heard it right, God is not making people love him by the action people are taking in religion, government, business, God is not advertising to us how good his love is! God is love, thus, to the amazement of most of us; God is perfectly complete without out our love.

Isa. 43:15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King." 43:16 Thus says Yahweh, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; 43:17 who brings forth the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty man (they lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched like a wick):
43:18 "Don't remember the former things, and don't consider the things of old.
43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs forth now. Don't you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. 43:20 The animals of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
43:21 the people which I formed for myself, that they might set forth my praise. 43:22 Yet you have not called on me, Jacob; but you have been weary of me, Israel. 43:23 You have not brought me of your sheep for burnt offerings; neither have you honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with frankincense. 43:24 You have bought me no sweet cane with money, nor have you filled me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have burdened me with your sins. You have wearied me with your iniquities.

But no human is complete without love, we can hardly survive unless we are loved. And that is why we manipulate each other which our bibles calls us all liars. We attach love to everything, how much money we have, to looks, clothing, you name it we attach our feeling to everything material gain hoping we are honored and love for those possesion. The more we gain the more we will be loved.

Isa. 40:9 You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up. Don't be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold, your God!" 40:10 Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 40:11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.
40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
40:13 Who has directed the Spirit of Yahweh, or has taught him as his counselor?

Subsequently, if God did not first love us, we could never be saved and have a loving relationship with him. We human have to have go between, those go between are idols we cherish that lets us think if we show affection for the idol (religion, government, commerce, giving, important people, a cause.) God will get our love by proxy. However, we simply don’t love God enough to put faith in his love only.

Isa.40:14 Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
40:15 Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.

1 John 4:19 We love Him, because he first loved us.

1 John 4:16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

Those idols can be our religious thoughts, the position and action we put on to appear holy, so we gain recognition from our peers. Idol worship is trying to worship God by something other than Spirit and truth, which cannot be done we must known by the God of truth, and love that puts his son life in us!

1 John 4:8 He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.

Thus, we cannot honor others with a phony heart we cannot act to satisfy ourselves in hiding the truth from others and not dishonor the God who is truth and will bring all falsehood into the light!

John 6:64 But there are some of you who don't believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who didn't believe, and who it was who would betray him.

John 8:19 They said therefore to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

Growing in Grace

Colossians 1:6 which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

Grace is not just a word. No we must be found in it, it is what we must grow in everyday.

We were found by God in his grace, that is his undeserved kindness. No human to ever exist on this earth will have eternal life unless they are found in God grace. The gift of grace is free and is an undeserved gift too us, it is the greatest expression of God’s love, ever!

Romans 9:11 For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls.

Romans.4:1 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh?
4:2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.
4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."{Genesis 15:6}
4:4 Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as debt.
4:5 But to him who doesn't work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

To grow in it we must have a true evaluation of who we are and why we have God’s love. That is an on going evaluation by God’s Spirit that tells we are under undeserved mercy that we have done nothing to deserve God’s love. Furthermore, that same love, the same portion has been freely given to all our bothers and sisters in Christ.

1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn't receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

Moreover, that is why we must show all Christ brothers and sisters honor. You see, one cannot be a body member and get more honor than another members based on any self-evaluation or by any human organization. One is the head and owner of the body.

1Cor.3:1 Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.
3:2 I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren't yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready,
3:3 for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren't you fleshly, and don't you walk in the ways of men? 3:4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," aren't you fleshly? 3:5 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

1Cor. 3:20 And again, "The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless."{Psalm 94:11} 3:21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 3:22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, 3:23 and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

When we become ashamed of what God honors it dishonor not the body member, but the whole body including the head of that body. The mere fact that so many fall so far short of this standard is living proof they are living in God’s great mercy, does is it not?

2Tim.3:1 But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come.
3:2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3:3 without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good,
3:4 traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;
3:5 holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. Turn away from these, also.
3:6 For of these are those who creep into houses, and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
3:7 always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

So many are caught up in the phony act of acting like they are kind to least of Christ brothers they tell on themselves that they have no real faith in God’s love, let alone his undeserved kindness; they have busied themselves so much in thinking and doing some phony work without God’s love and honor that as pleasing to God as if he does the same; fooling themselves by mundane obligation worship they have made God like their heart a dungy idol thinking God doesn’t see through their self-appointed acts of eye service the blowing of the trumpet to edify their foolish heart and the fleshly eyes upon them.

We are not doing favor for God by treating the least of Christ brothers kindly, if you think so, you have become the master and not the servant of God. If you love God’s undeserved kindness, God’s love would compels us without reserve to treat everyone in love that is the personality of Christ that should be working in us and through us if we are his body on earth.

Showing kindness to the least is not a work, nor an obligation legislated by our bibles or a religion, it is rather the very nature of God and his Son if we are created new in God’s love it is our nature. Love is a gift given without personal gains or conditions attached to it. God honors the least of Christ brothers for they are his son’s birth in his love.

Luke 6:37 Don't judge, and you won't be judged. Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free.

Romans 5:15 But the free gift isn't like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers{TR adds ", raise the dead"}, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give.

Rev. 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" He who hears, let him say, "Come!" He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Rom.13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Completed: April 20, 2021

by: Daniel a Slave in Christ Jesus