Four Points of the Compass – Greater and Lesser

December 9, 2007 at 7:43 pm | In Awake My Heart, Serving the Lord | Leave a Comment
Tags: false idols, Fear God, Honor the King, Patriotism

Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. I Peter 2:17

Note: This devotion is from November 6-7

We Christians recognize the stamp of the Creator upon all men, even upon the brow of the demoralized savage. Despite the degradation caused by sin, superstition and Satanic oppression, we believe that fundamentally, in his mental and moral nature, man is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26).

To be Christian is not merely being a part of a club or even a church for that matter. We are members of a family. There is not a different spirit within each of us, but one Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” When we allow the new nature in us to have its way, we do love one another, and delight in each other and sympathise with each other.

When the apostle Paul wrote “Fear God” and “Honor the king” the man seated on the throne was Nero, who was one of the vilest monsters.

The idea of “Fear God” and “Honor the king” are intricately linked for this reason. That’s because the fear of God is the one sure safeguard against giving the wrong kind of honor to an unearthly ruler or leader. For patriotism apart from godliness is rooted in evil. Call it false idol worship . . . but it is evil nonetheless.

Today, I pray that you and I will fear God and honor the one true King.