Several years ago the marriage coach *Jay
Tenney was talking with a man in his eighties and the man said something about
his marriage that deeply impacted him. This man’s wife had passed away
three years earlier after they had been married for 54 years. As he sat
very comfortably in his wheelchair the elderly gentleman talked about all
of the great times that they had shared over the years. He talked about
all of places they had traveled and about the struggles that they had faced
together. Then he said, “I miss her. I miss loving her and honoring
her.”
Tenney said he had never heard anyone say
anything like that before so he said, ‘”So
you honored your wife?” He smiled at the memory and said, “I certainly tried to. I tried to
honor her everyday”. He went on to say that he thought
the word LOVE was used too much these days. He said, “I LOVE lots of things but I HONORED my
wife”.
The phrase, “HONOR one another above yourselves,” is
found multiple places in the New Testament, including Hebrews 13:4 and Romans
12:10. Two different Greek words are used, each describing a similarly loving practice:
Timios (tim’-ee-os) “as of great price, precious;
held in honour, esteemed, especially dear.” (found in Heb 13:4)
Time (tee-may’) “a valuing by which the price is
fixed; honour which belongs or is shown to one, deference, reverence.” (found
in Rom 12:10)
While the word,
LOVE, is often used today, possibly to the point it’s lost some of its impact,
the word, HONOR, is less common. It causes me to wonder how many marriages
would be impacted if husbands/wives decided to honor their spouse “everyday,”
as the elder man sought to do for 54 years.
To honor one
another is…
· To follow the biblical blueprint for marriage;
· To strive for the success and happiness of your beloved;
· To constantly add value through loving words and actions;
· To learn and speak your beloved’s *“love language”;
· To build each other up and NEVER tear them down;
· To always be at your best for your beloved;
· To always act unselfishly;
Honor says, “You’re
the most important thing in my life.”
This is a simple
yet powerful principle, although it only has power if it’s put into practice. How can you honor your beloved today?
www.mymarriagecoach.com
www.5lovelanguages.com
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