When it comes to teaching children the Word of God, it is important to tell the stories and increase their knowledge, but knowledge is not enough. It is equally important to teach Bible principles and help children learn how to make them a priority in their lives.
This article will focus on teaching the principle of honoring God and others. According to Matthew 22:37; The greatest commandment in the Bible is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second great commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. This brings with it the principle “I am the third”. True love puts God first, others second, and ourselves third. True love then is not a feeling, but a choice and it is a gift that we give to others. A heart of honor springs from that choice to love.
An overview of honor
The Old Testament Hebrew word for honor means to be great, notable, or honored. In other words, the person who has this kind of honor carries a lot of weight. The New Testament Greek word means to fix a value on; and by participation it means to revere, honor or value. In both the Old and New Testaments, the Bible commands us to honor God, parents, all men, our wives, widows, and those in authority.
What is honor anyway?
Honor is when you decide to place a high value or importance on God or another person by viewing them as a priceless treasure and placing them in a position of great respect in your life. It is a choice based on following the principles of the Bible and is not necessarily based on merit.
Three aspects of honor.
– It is a choice, an act of the will, where you decide on purpose to place a high value on someone and consider them special and valuable.
– It is a gift that you give to someone, whether they deserve it or not. It is not bought by your actions nor is it based on your emotions.
– It’s genuine love in action.
What does it mean to dishonor God?
You dishonor God when you treat him (knowingly or unknowingly) as if he has little or no value; like it’s not important. When God asks his heart to spend time reading his word and instead chooses to watch a television show he has seen before, he is placing a low value on God. When you know you should go to church, but choose to sleep in, you are placing a higher value on yourself than on God and dishonoring him. The less value you place on God, the easier it will be for you to justify dishonoring Him with your words or actions and rationalize sin.
How do I honor God?
The first step to honoring God is to begin to see him as a priceless and honorable treasure. Paul says in 1 Peter 2:7 that he is precious to those who truly believe in him. When you place a high value on something, you treat it with care and respect. Think of the difference in your actions when you eat from paper plates and plastic utensils or use the fine china reserved for special guests. Imagine the difference you would feel between driving a beat-up car or a Bentley or a Lamborghini. We must place a higher value on God than anything else we have.
In Matthew 26:6-13 we have the story of a woman who had a treasure that was precious to her and she brought it to the Lord. This treasure was a very expensive perfume that she had probably taken years to collect, but she freely gave it to the Lord without caring what people would say. She demonstrated with her actions the high value that she placed on Jesus. Some people around her objected, either because they did not understand or they valued the perfume more than Jesus. God chose to honor her act of love by including her story in the Bible where she will be seen for all eternity.
Seeing it as a priceless treasure is not enough; you need to demonstrate that attitude in your actions. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give an expensive gift like the woman in the story. A one-time gift is not as important as small continuous actions. Show God that he is important enough in your life that you are willing to spend time with him every day. Start with 10 minutes a day and gradually increase. Find a couple of things that God values and make them a part of your life. If your church attendance has been sporadic, commit to going every Sunday whether you feel like it or not. Once you get there, give it your attention, especially during worship time.
A third way to honor God is to make decisions based on the principles of his Word rather than your feelings. I don’t always feel like going to church, but I do. It is a commitment that my wife and I made years ago and that we still keep. God has given us great friendships and ministry opportunities that we would not have experienced if we had just gone whenever we wanted.
Another good thing you can do is start asking the next two questions on a consistent basis.
– Does this attitude or action honor God?
– Am I honoring this person with my attitude and behavior? The reason for this question is because when you dishonor another person you are dishonoring God who created that person.
What are the results of honoring God?
– According to 1 Samuel 2:30 and John 12:26, when you honor God, he will honor you.
– You will build a stronger relationship with God.
– You will build a strong testimony against unbelievers
How can I teach this principle to the children in my class?
1. Start by studying it yourself and take an honest look at your own attitude and behavior. Do you honor God properly and show it? Commit to honoring him more, and ask him to help you establish and work on a plan of action.
2. You can teach an entire lesson or even a series of lessons on honor. In a class, you can teach the basic principles and then do a series of Bible lessons pointing out people who did or did not honor God and the results. Provide a few specific challenge activities each week to help them practice honor. Do simple acts like saying thank you a certain number of times, sharing toys with others, not talking back to their parents, etc.
3. You can distribute the teaching in an entire quarter. Spend 5-10 minutes in each class teaching one aspect of honor, then reinforce it when you give the Bible lesson. At the end of the quarter do an honor summary and encourage the children to continue applying the principle in their lives.
4. Incorporate honor into your class rules. Teach children that you will not allow disrespect for God or others in your class. Be sure to follow up and don’t let kids get away with joking, insulting, or putting other members of the class down. Don’t talk negatively about people outside of class, and hold your children to the same standard.
If you impart the knowledge of honor to the class, you will have done some good. If you have taught them the principle of honor and helped them develop it in their lives, you have taught them a skill that can benefit them for the rest of their lives.