Proverbs 4:8
“Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.”
In the verse above, God gives a promise that the person who exalts and promotes wisdom and understanding will become a person of honor. When you think of a person with honor, you think of a person who has integrity and morals. A person with honor is a person who has lived in such a manner that people trust them and hold them in high esteem.
One thing every generation lacks are people of honor. It seems as if many are out for themselves and their agenda, and they are willing to sacrifice their honor to achieve it. It really doesn't matter if you get what you want if you lose your integrity to get there. You have accomplished nothing in life if you had to lose your honor and integrity to attain the promotions and wealth you have accumulated. In Proverbs 4, God shows four steps a person must take to achieve honor.
First, you must have boundaries to guide you. Verse 4 says, “…keep my commandments…” The commandments are the boundaries by which you live. Every person needs commandments to guide them along life’s way. These commandments must be clear and simple. If a parent wants to rear their children to become a person of honor, they better be sure to set rules in the home. You will never obtain honor without boundaries to keep you from doing things you should not do.
Second, you will never get honor without performance. Verse 4 continues to say, “…keep my commandments, and live.” Living is performing. I’m all for people having boundaries by which to live, but boundaries are set to help you while you perform. For instance, there is no purpose of an out-of-bounds line in basketball if you don't play the game. That line is there to help you perform. God’s commandments are established to help you perform better. Performance creates accomplishments. If you want to become a person of honor, you are going to have to get up and start doing something. Honorable people are people of accomplishment, and people of accomplishment are people of performance. You earn honor by doing something.
Third, awareness is a key to honor. Verse 11 says, “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom…” Awareness is learning how to do things while you perform them. Sadly, I’ve watched many people do something who can't tell you how they've done it because they are not living in awareness. While you are practicing what you are supposed to do, be sure to be aware of what you are doing so you will know how to do it on your own. You will never become a person of honor if someone always has to hold your hand while you perform.
Fourth, direction keeps you honorable. Verse 11 continues by saying, “…I have led thee in right paths.” You better keep your direction right if you want to keep the honor you earned. Many people became a person of honor, but they lost their honor because they didn't keep their direction right. What is the right direction? The right direction is to continue doing what brought you to honor. Don't be a person of change or be given to change. Keep walking the old paths, and as the verse above says, “embrace” them. You will find that honor is a result of embracing these four actions.