(This article was written for the September–October 2005 issue of Evangelicals Today with the cover theme “Honoring Your Pastor.”)
Growing up in a typical American sports-crazed family, I remember going to awards banquets at the end of every football, basketball, and baseball season and watching as the coach recognized the best players with various awards. Only one player could get the MVP trophy, but in order to spread the honor, the coaches usually called out several names and gave them “honorable mention.” Those who were honorably mentioned were not THE best, but were better than the rest and thus felt honored to be mentioned at the awards banquet.
On the extreme other side of the honor coin is to be “dishonorably discharged.” This is military talk for being fired or terminated.
Honorable mention and dishonorable discharge are both based on what a person does, not on who he or she is. It is based on performance, not on position; on action, not on aptitude. There is no position on a football or basketball team that automatically gets honorable mention. Rather, it is how that position is played that gets honor or dishonor.
The Bible clearly tells us to honor several people. First, we are to honor our parents, not because we deem them honorable, but because they are parents. Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise (Ephesians 6:2). It is not our job to decide if they are honorable; it is our job to honor them, whether they have lived honorable lives or not. Parental honor is unconditional honor.
Secondly, the Bible tells us to honor our pastors and spiritual leaders, but not unconditionally. The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17). Pastors deserve our honor as they direct the church well and if they work hard teaching and preaching. Some are too lazy to be honored. Others don’t understand that spiritual leadership is actually work. Unlike parental honor, there is a condition to pastoral honor. No pastor is to be honored just because he has a card that says his title is “pastor.”
Most pastors I know in the Philippines are worthy not only of honorable mention, but of double and triple honor.
There are a few, however, who deserve a dishonorable discharge for the way they have mistreated God’s people, mishandled God’s money, and misrepresented God’s name. They can usually be found hiding behind 1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15, warning people to touch not mine anointed even though they are much more annoying than anointed.
May we live to honor God and give honorable mention to the countless pastors and spiritual leaders whose lives serve as true representatives of Christ.