by Rebekah Martin | June 24, 2014
A few years ago, I sat in a crowded church auditorium waiting to hear the pastor give a message. The room had been very busy with people moving all about to say their quick hellos followed by the common handshake or hug. We had all just finished following instructions to greet one another after the powerful worship service came to an end. As people sat, the pastor simply stood up front and waited for the congregation to settle and the atmosphere to calm. After we all grew quiet and turned our attention to the stage, the pastor began to speak. He started off with a simple yet powerful prayer and began with his opening remarks introducing his message. About ten minutes into his sermon, two women seated next to me started to whisper. My attention was drawn to them immediately, as were many others around them. A women who was seated in the row in front of them turned around and quietly said with a smile, "Pardon me, we don't do that here. We honor our pastor and do not talk while he is talking. Please be quiet or maybe talk outside, thank you." The woman was kind yet firm and turned in her seat to place all of her attention back on the pastor. I was taken back by two things that continued to catch my attention. The first, was the courage it took this woman to turn and ask the other two women to stop talking and how she did it with a smile and a kind voice. The second, was the offense that was taken by the other two women who had more than likely not been exposed to this kind of culture of honor. Although they quieted down, they were upset. I realized that my attention was on them and the situation rather then on the pastor where it belonged. I noticed how much their chatter had drawn my attention, as well as those around them. Their talking had been a distraction to more than just themselves. I left there with a new revelation of honor and the courage it takes to stand up for it.
Shortly after, unfortunately I found myself doing the very same thing. I turned to a friend during a service and as I began to speak to her, she leaned over to me and to my surprise she replied with, "Be careful Rebekah, it may be you up on that stage someday. Do you want people in your audience to be talking while you are sharing?" I was immediately taken back to the original lesson The Lord had taught me in that large auditorium. I was reminded of Luke 6:31. It says that we should do to others what we would like them to do to us. On that day, I purposed in my heart to learn how to honor others in ways that go outside of my limited views on what it means to honor. I knew it would probably take many more loving lessons from The Lord, but I asked Him to continue teaching me. Today, make a decision to honor and invite the Holy Spirit to teach you new ways to show honor to others.