Honored

“and if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”  1 Corinthians 12:26

Honored – Doxologies are not restricted to God.  Doxazo is the Greek verb that means, “to give respect, praise, honor or dignity” to someone deserving.  You might be just that person.  And if you are, guess what?  You’re not alone in this either.

Do you live by the principle that the worst that happens to you places you in the company of many who love you?  Then you will also understand that the glory you receive comes as a result of the efforts of many.  If you are honored, so are they.  It’s worth noticing that Paul uses this verb in the passive mood.  It is honor that is given to you by someone else, not credit that you took for yourself.  If you are looking for glory, this Greek verb does not apply to you.

Jim Collins wrote a best selling business book called Good to Great.  He discovered that the leaders of the best businesses had some common characteristics. One of them was humility.  They all knew that any honor they received was really accolades for all the others who helped them.  They never sought glory.  They were ego-deflation people.  In contrast, the businesses that looked like stars but ultimately failed also had leaders who had common characteristics.  One of them was individual pride and glory.  These leaders were all about “me”.  They sought glory and touted themselves.  They were legends in their own minds.

Jim Collins did not have to do all that research to discover this truth about leadership.  All he had to do was read about Jesus.  Humility means that I know in my bones that whatever honor I receive is not mine alone.  In fact, my life is completely wrapped up in the lives of all those fellow believers whose efforts brought me to this place.  I am not a soloist, in my pascho or my doxazo.

Be brutally honest with yourself.  Do you think of your accomplishments as yours, or do you find that as soon as you think about what you have done with life, pictures of all your helpers come to mind?  Where do you fall on the humility scale?