LOVING LIKE GOD Pt.5

In recent times, the culture of dishonour is becoming more pronounced especially among youths and  some ministers of the Gospel whose pastime is to call out preachers publicly because of doctrinal disagreements. To me, it is looking like some no longer have an original message. Their sermon is incomplete until they tear down another preacher and present him to their listeners like a nobody.

I read one on facebook who used a preacher's deformity to make illustration in a very derogatory manner. If that man were his father, would he have done that? The unfortunate thing about this is how they weave scriptures around their acts of dishonour thinking they are defending the faith whereas they are acting in dishonour and living in bitterness.

*One thing about love is that it protects a person's dignity even in disagreement*.

I think some have crossed the lines from love into hatred, honour into dishonour without knowing. They embarrass, belittle and treat others despitefully. A subtle form of dishonour we don't pay attention to is how some of those that are highly placed treat those below them. We rarely look at this issue from this angle but it is what it is- dishonour.

Being a boss does not mean you can talk to your subordinates any how. The only people some honour are superiors. That's bad. Some treat their house help as though they are not humans. Their children join them in their act of dishonour by calling their househelp by name, command them around yet they cannot correct them.

While growing up, we had drivers and house helps. Our house buzzed with people and activities. My parents did not permit us to call any of our drivers 'driver' neither did we call any house help 'house help'. All drivers are called 'Mr xxx'  and the house helps were called 'Aunty xxx'. We don't introduce them to our friends as drivers or house help. That is part of honouring people regardless of their status.

Do you want to know what dishonouring others look like? One of it is stripping off people's dignity publicly just to prove a point. Most people do this under the guise of "correction". Some also do it when they are no longer in good terms with the person. They come into public space to "correct" but in actual sense, they are tearing down the dignity of the person publicly. I have people I disagree with either in doctrine or ideology(we all do not agree on everything) yet you'll never see me tear their dignity into shreds. Never!

*Love does not love the error of people but it loves them as a person because they are God's creation deserving to be loved*.

Dishonour mocks people. Mockery in sarcastic style is the stock-in-trade of some. They may not do it directly but all their sarcasm points to someone verifiable. I have seen this among some young preachers who throw shades at others that are not in their camp. Dishonour does not stop at mockery. It exposes only the negatives about people and make a big issue out of it.

God honours us even when we fail. He calls us “sons and daughters”, not “mistakes” (Romans 8:15). We honour others not because they deserve it, but because love demands it. The culture of dishonour will get us nowhere. It will kill important relationships.