Who Do We Honor?

Isaiah 26:13 LORD our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. 

We have a choice to whom we give our honor. And sometimes we give honor to those who really don’t deserve honor. Sometimes we choose the lesser of two because there is no truly good option.

We have three grocery store chains in our town. Each one has things about them that draw customers to them. We shop at all three! One is the most expensive, but it is closest to our home. The next is close and it is less expensive, but the fresh produce isn’t always the best. The third option has wonderful produce and great prices, but it doesn’t have the selection of merchandise that the other two have.

So we honor the different stores with our income. We choose to spend our money depending on the needs of the shopping trip. Sometimes we have little choice about where to go because of what we need to purchase.

Israel went through tremendous turmoil because of their rebellion. They eventually were removed from the Promised Land and became a subservient people in a foreign land. They lost everything in the process. They even lost their favored spot in the shower of God’s blessing. Their rebellion had longterm consequences.

Our text in the book of Isaiah recounts a song of praise filled with hope for the future. It acknowledges the error of not trusting fully in the LORD. It is honest about their failings.

One of those failings included yielding to other gods through worship, guidance seeking and honor. They had turned away from the LORD and sought help from other nations and gods who were not the LORD. They knew the heavy hand of oppressive rulers. They knew the consequences of turning away.

So they acknowledge that the LORD is the ruler they want to yield to, the One they want to honor. He is the One who treats them well. He is the One who honors them with blessing and well-being.

So who do you honor with your time, talent, treasure, worship, guidance seeking, submission?