Love and Honor || Romans 12:10 || Manna for the Mind #60

Welcome to Day 60 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional series! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is Romans 12:10. We’ll talk about how to love each other genuinely and honor each other with delight.

Romans 12:10

10           Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

This seems like a good time to examine what the original Greek says about “genuine affection” and “taking delight in honoring.”

Genuine affection refers to being devoted. It’s the only time this Greek word is used. The word is philostorgos (fil-os’-tor-gos), which means tenderly loving. This is a compound word: Phlios meaning “lover or friend” and storgē meaning “natural or family love.” When combined, it describes a lover of family. It’s a special affection shared between brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to love each other like family, regardless of our relationship. Some of us might not have had a loving family to come from. In those situations, I pray that the church and Christians around you can show you the love of Christ and what it means to feel loved as a member of God’s family.

The phrase ‘to take delight’ in the Greek, proégeomai, can be a bit confusing. It’s a compound word: pró meaning ‘before’ and hēgéomai meaning ‘leading to an important conclusion.’ When combined, it describes passing on the right example or the proper behavior so others can follow. In simpler terms, it means setting a good example for others to follow. It’s about taking the initiative, doing the right thing first, and not waiting for someone else to do it. We are to honor someone without hesitation, without waiting for others to do it first.

To honor someone is the Greek word time (tee-may’), which refers to valuing or a price. It’s a perceived value or worth that has perceived honor. It’s the value in the eyes of the beholder.

We must love each other as a family. We must take the initiative to showcase someone’s value no matter what so that others can recognize that value and learn to do it themselves. There are two ways to honor someone.

One way involves ulterior motives. We can honor our bosses so they can reward us. We can honor our employees so they can work harder. We can honor the wealthy so they can contribute to our causes. We can honor the powerful so they can use their power for us and not against us. What’s the commonality shown in these examples? We can honor someone if they will do something for us in return. That doesn’t sound like the honor that Paul encourages us to do. That’s not taking the initiative. That’s not sharing the right example of lifting each other up. The other path is what Paul wants to see.

The other way involves God’s path of love. As Christians, we honor people. They have been created in God’s image because they are our siblings in Christ and uniquely contribute to making Christ’s church. We honor someone because they are created in God’s image. Why? We honor them because they are a part of our family. Why? We honor them because they uniquely contribute to strengthening the church. Each one of us has been instilled with different gifts from God, doing things in a way that is unique to each other. How I preach may be different from how you’d do it. How you would clean the church is different than I would. The critical thing to recognize is that God gives us our unique strengths through the Holy Spirit. Let’s acknowledge and lift those strengths up to each other. Think about the words taught in John 13:34.

John 13:34

34           So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, should love each other.

The love that Paul calls us to share with others is not just any love, but the same love that Jesus shared with us. This concept was not new to Paul’s audience, as it was rooted in the Levitical law. However, to love others as much as Jesus did was revolutionary. The love we are called to share is based on Jesus’ sacrificial love for us. This love may not require us to sacrifice our lives, but it does call for us to give of our time, resources, gifts, talents, and more. It’s about willingly and intentionally giving what we would typically hold onto ourselves. This kind of love, rooted in selflessness and humility, can bring unbelievers to faith in Jesus and keep believers strong and united in a world that often goes against God.

Jesus was the living example of God’s love. If we ever question how to love someone, Jesus will hold the answer and call on us to replicate his behavior. When faced with Jesus’ teaching, do you tend to think about the people in your life that are hard to love or those you feel you can’t love? That’s the conviction of the Spirit, telling you to check your words and behaviors before you say and do something you’ll regret. The love Jesus wants us to share seems humanly impossible, but it is doable. To have this kind of love, we must humble ourselves. We must recognize that Jesus’ sacrificial love allowed us to have a direct, bold, and loving relationship with our heavenly Father. Once we recognize this, we need the Holy Spirit to pour God’s love into our hearts so we can love each other. This act of being humble is shown in Philippians 2:3.

Philippians 2:3

3             Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Selfishness is a loud killer, and trying to impress each other is a silent killer. These things can take hold of our lives and run straight into the ground. Being humble involves having a proper perspective of ourselves. It doesn’t mean that we put ourselves down. It means being honest with ourselves. It’s admitting that we might have a problem with gambling. It means acknowledging our struggle with perfectionism. It means coming to terms with our weaknesses.

Simply put, we are sinners, saved only by God’s grace, but we are saved and, therefore, have great worth in the Kingdom of Heaven. We can lay aside selfishness and treat others with respect and common courtesy. Considering others’ interests is more important than ours and links us with Christ, the perfect example of humility. It’s taking the time to listen to others talk about their new job or hobby. It’s accepting the invite to hang out with your friend at their kids’ sports game. It’s sacrificing time on the couch to spend time at movies with a friend going through a breakup. It’s taking it away from yourself, reflecting on what you’re sacrificing, and then sharing it with others.

Father God, thank you for the great love you share with us—a love that cannot be comprehended, a love that doesn’t come from another source, a love that is not deserved but given willingly. Strengthen us to share it with others as Jesus taught us and shared it with us. Let us lift each other up with honor and do it willingly. It’s in your name we pray. Amen.