Look for Ways to Honor God
In his letter to the Christians living in Rome, Paul talks about people who attempt to live life according to a bunch of religious rules, that is, the law. The result is that God is disrespected, not so much by the people themselves, but by those on the outside looking in.
In short, others harbor contempt for God based on how his follower’s act.
However, this isn’t the first time this happens. Paul is actually quoting from the book of Isaiah. What Isaiah writes is not his words, but God’s. God complains that because of his people’s failures, he doesn’t receive respect from others.
In both cases, the word the Bible uses to describe this is blaspheme. Others blaspheme God because of the behavior of those who claim to follow him. To blaspheme is to speak of God in an irreverent, impious manner; to disrespect, show contempt, dishonor, slander, or abuse him.
I fear we have learned nothing from Isaiah or from Paul. Today we still do the same thing. We claim to love God, yet too often our words or our actions cause those outside of our faith to shake their heads in derision. They mock us and they disrespect God; he is blasphemed—because of us.
How do we do this?
- We hate when we should love.
- We act with malice to those deserving compassion.
- We judge others even though we aren’t supposed to.
- We reject people on the fringes of society, the very people Jesus embraces.
- We are exclusive, even though God is inclusive.
Forgive us God, for our blasphemy. You deserve better.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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4 replies on “What Do We Do To Dishonor God?”
I so appreciate your article… we are doing a study on respect for God with our “family study group” tomorrow evening . Your article just seals everything we have found and prepared for the class.
I have almost harped on this topic for so very long, trying to get people to see that we are talking to the almighty when we pray to him and yet some feel it is okay to make a joke or flippant remark when talking to God. Perhaps I am old fashioned but I believe that calling him “Dad” instead of our Father when addressing him and making funny remarks about something when talking to him is so very disrespectful….
Thank you again for your thoughts…
Dawn, I’m glad you liked this post. Thanks for letting me know.
(I respect your decision to use Father. As for me, I prefer Papa. To me it conveys respect, intimacy, and adoration. And that’s the relationship I want with my heavenly Father.)
yes, we dishonor God when we do not act as ambassadors of Christ and I find myself fallng short. So I personally need to ask for the Holy Spirit to help me daily in my walk. Please consider this, as I feel strongly about it, that pronouns used for God/Jesus/Holy Spirit are replacement words for His Holy Name. I feel we need to not dishonor His Name with our lack of using proper pronouns in our writings too ..as you wrote…”To blaspheme is to speak of God in an irreverent, impious manner; to disrespect, show contempt, dishonor, slander, or abuse him”.[Him] Thank you for listening. Giving Him the glory and honor and praise!
Thanks for stopping by, Terri, and taking time to add to the discussion.
To God be the glory!