Articles
Things Honorable
When the Apostle Paul was commanding the churches far removed from Jerusalem to gather gifts to be sent to the relief of the poor in that city, he was concerned regarding the arrangements to be made for that ministry. He commanded the church in Corinth to gather the gifts, and to choose a trustworthy person to carry their gift to Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:3).
In his second letter to them, in which he urged them to complete the plan, he told them that he was sending Titus to help them do this, and that “with him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man” (2 Corinthians 8:18 21). This was to assure the brethren that the arrangement was free of any hint of corruption.
Was Paul right in assuming that there were things held by all men that could be classified as “honorable?” Our own observation of matters among mankind can confirm this assumption. As an example, I am sure that most football players know that it is a violation of the rules of the game to “hold,” or to use this violation to prevent another player from doing his part in a play. Yet, high definition television, with its close coverage of the plays, will reveal that “holding” is practiced by some player during nearly every play. Only a few of these violations are seen by the officials, and punished.
Likewise, people that know the rules of honorable behavior will often violate them, hoping to get away with it, unpunished. This must never be a done by the Christian. The Scripture says, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17).
Again, Paul wrote, “Now we pray to God that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is honorable, though we be as reprobate” (2 Corinthians 13:7 ASV). And yet again, he wrote this broader admonition, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).
Mankind, in general, knows what is honorable in human behavior, but it should be the Christian who goes beyond this knowledge to conscientiously practice it, to the glory of God.
