Whatever is Honourable

In this edition, we will be looking at the second governing principle regarding our mindset from Philippians 4:8 (i.e. honour).

The word used in greek is “semna” and Strong’s concordance translates it as “Venerable”, “honourable”, “grave”, “serious”, “dignified”. The word Honourable is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as honest and fair, or deserving of respect. We see words like honest, fair, deserving, respect. All these translate to honour.

Think honourably

What does this even mean? In simple terms, it means choosing to relate to matters in the area of the mind from a standpoint of honesty – representing truth (refer to the previous post as this is discussed in more detail) and avoiding any misrepresentation., while making sure that the matter being thought and looked at is without any sort of bias at all. That’s right! No biased way of thinking. The only sure way to do this, is in light of God’s word as you may have read that God is no respecter of persons (cf. Acts 10:34), which means He says what needs to be said regardless and shows no partiality.

Now, thinking honourably will imply that we are fair in our judgement, which happens often in our minds. We must embrace fairness. Again, this will have to lead you to do away with biases. Having biases will mar your judgement on situations and cause you to be unfair one way or another, no matter how hard you try to hide it.

Also we see that being honourable means deserving of respect. This quickly lets us know there are things that can make one to be unworthy of respect. Respect is an outward expression of admiration for another’s exercise of discipline in one or more areas of their lives through behaviour.

This is why the phrase is coined “deserving of respect”. One will have to see the outward expression, evaluate it to see if it reflects a particular set of values, and once that verification is passed, the reciprocal response given is respect. What values are you portraying in your day-to-day living?

One sure way you can bring respect to yourself or another is by embracing values in the given context. In the context of Christian living, embracing the truth of God’s word and living it out will affect the way you live and cause people to see your good deeds and glorify God who is in Heaven. They having to glorify God causes you to have respect as you are the seen representation of God’s glory and as a result, become the beneficiary of the glorification (which in this case is respect). The next time you want to earn respect, embrace the values of the given context (in this regard as Christians, the truth of God’s word).

Let’s bring it all home, shall we?

Thinking honourably means we must be objective in our thinking in light of God’s values. We must do away with biases that can mar our outlook on issues and cause us to take sides. The Bible says as a man thinks, so is he (cf. Proverbs 23:7). In other words, you become how you consistently think. Therefore thinking objectively in light of God’s word implies that you make a practice of removing biases and judging from a standpoint of neutrality (having no selfish interests).

This will only become a parcel of you by practice. We are instructed by the word of God to put into practice what we learn (cf. Philippians 4:9). Will you begin to think honourably by being objective in light of God’s word or avoiding biases? A good place to start always is the place of prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you do this.

Finally, I’d like to bring to your notice that all the above isn’t possible if you do not first have a responsible relationship with the Lord Jesus. You will need to have Him in your life through the agency of the Holy Spirit to journey with us in this phase of transforming our minds.

If you want to accept Jesus now, pray saying, “Lord Jesus, I renounce my sins, and part ways with the systems of the world and Satan alongside the kingdom of darkness. I choose you today to be my Lord and personal saviour. I surrender my whole heart and life to you today. Thank you for receiving me as your own. And now I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit to enable me do this new life with you. Holy Spirit, please guide me henceforth. Help me to be in tune with you. Thank you Lord Jesus, in your holy name I have prayed, Amen.