Understanding the Difference Between Honor and Worship of Man

What is it about humans wanting to worship other humans?   We've all witnessed it...one person praying for someone else...What starts out as a God-honoring, God-exalting prayer asking for covering and empowerment from on high, quickly turns into a prayer of adoration and exaltation of the person being prayed for. It both saddens and frightens me.  In my 33 years of ministry, I’ve seen it over and over, reading like a script.  A highly capable leader, while not asking for it, begins to be worshiped, as opposed to honored, resulting in God being taken from His rightful place, being replaced by a mere human.

I believe in honor. I believe we are to honor those in leadership, as well as those around us. In our society today, there is a great lack of honor, which is cause for huge concern.  We need to be teaching our children about honor. We were created to honor God as well as those He puts in authority over us - mothers, fathers, spiritual leaders, teachers, government leaders, etc., as described in the book of Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 17: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”  We are also to honor all others, as Romans 12:10 instructs: "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor others above yourselves."

Even if we feel the one in authority isn’t “honorable,” we are to honor the position, as that person or persons will one day have to give an account to God (a very serious thing, by the way!).  Honor involves respect, courtesy, encouragement and loyalty, while at the same time being truthful and loving.  We are never to be rude, no matter how much we may disagree, as it is possible to be polite in our disagreement. We are to lift those in leadership up in prayer, with thanksgiving, thanking God that He is sovereign and He knows what He is doing.  With this in mind, a standard I have set in my own life in regards to honoring others (not just those in authority) is that I NEVER EVER have the right to be rude to anyone.  EVER.  If a truth, concern, or issue needs to be addressed with others (even on Facebook), it can always be done in a kind, courteous manner, showing respect and honor from start to finish. 

But as with any good and right action, perversion can occur when man gets in the way.  Probably like you, I’ve seen many godly, gifted men and women fall from grace when they were elevated to a position of perfection, resulting in both themselves and others seeing them in a way God never intended.  Something very sinister happens when we lower God's position, replacing it with man.   When we elevate someone to a position of being infallible, we are setting them up for failure, as well as ourselves up for disappointment of grand proportions.  We’re doing no one any favors here.

I recently heard of a very large church providing the children in their Children’s Ministries coloring pages with the pastor's picture.  Seriously?!?!?!?  Call me old-fashioned, but what happened to pictures of Jesus, Jonah, and David and Goliath, as well as other Biblical truths?  What are we doing here? From the get-go, we’re training our kids to worship man. I fear a line is being crossed on a scale of grand proportions.

So why isn’t worshiping God enough? Why do we feel we have to exalt man?

In First Samuel, we see the account of  Samuel, Saul and the Israelites, wherein God ordained and designed His people to worship Him as their King, as He is the only One who was (and is) perfect, able to provide for every need through both sustenance and protection.  However, this wasn’t enough for the Israelites. They wanted “a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”   They wanted a Saul! In that this request deeply troubled the prophet Samuel, God responded by telling Him, “Listen to all the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their King.”  I would submit to you that this same situation continues to happen today.  We're rejecting God in our worship of man.

In many of our churches, ministries and Christian circles, the line of honoring one another is being crossed - setting each other up for failure, disappointment and catastrophe.  Man’s ego is fragile – cross this line enough and he, as well as those around, will slide down to the pit of excluding God as the focus of worship.  Simply put – we begin to believe our own press.

Unfortunately, I speak from experience. Years ago, as Stan and I partnered with a very gifted, talented and charismatic individual in ministry, we witnessed firsthand the problem of honor of man being twisted into worship of man.  It was subtle and deceptive.  It was tricky and it was ugly.  I honestly believe those who participated had no idea of the line they had crossed. This man was perceived as being invincible, to others, and eventually to himself.  It was the perfect setup.  A moral failure of huge proportions ensued, literally leaving thousands devastated.

So how do we keep the balance? We can set healthy boundaries, periodically checking our heart’s focus – is our focus man or is it God? Who are we exalting – man or God?  Who do we give credit to – man or God?  Who do we point attention to – ourselves, our leaders, or God?  And when someone crosses that line from honor to worship of us - are we quick to lovingly correct the course – pointing all adoration to God and God alone? These are good questions to ask, ensuring we have a proper, healthy God-perspective towards our leaders as well as ourselves, helping to keep our hearts and minds in proper alignment.

I want to be clear - In no way am I saying “Don’t encourage your leaders because they might get the big head!” Encouragement is drastically different than worship.  We need to encourage and honor those around us – especially our church leaders. God knows they are literally up against hell each and every day – engaging in spiritual battles beyond imagination. They need pats on the back, gifts of blessing, and especially positive words of encouragement.  Quite honestly, when I’m worn out from ministry, sometimes it’s the encouraging words of others that keeps me going. So encourage your church leaders – with both word and deed.  They need it!  With this in mind, please remember...October is Pastor Appreciation Month.  Please take advantage of this extra opportunity to honor those who lead, teach, train and pour into you and your families.  They really need it!

However, as with all areas of our lives, we need to periodically perform heart checks, making sure we’re in the right place - giving right place to others. We also need to pray for our leaders, as this is the most honoring thing we can possibly do.  Praying for ourselves and others is also needed, that we will have a balanced, healthy perspective when it comes to honoring our leaders, as well as one another.  It’s imperative, especially in the age we are living in, that we truly give honor to WHOM honor is due.

As always, thank you for reading.  Your wisdom, thoughts and insights are greatly appreciated!