Honor and Honesty

Hi sisters,

I just finished the book of Judges and wow, I’m SO glad I’m done. It was brutal reading through it (some pun intended). There’s not too many “happy” or “encouraging” moments in Judges. In fact, chapter 2 sets the stage for the rest of the book and it is pretty grim:

“They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.  So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. . . And they were in terrible distress. Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. . . Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways” (from verses 13-19).

With that intro, it’s difficult to get excited about jumping into the story.

However, now that I am finished with the book as a whole, I began to reflect on its place in the Scriptures. Then a light bulb went off in my head: The Bible is stunning in its honesty about Israel’s family of origin!! And by default, it is stunning in its honesty about Jesus’ generational family history! Of course the Bible is clear that we are to “honor our father and our mother” (Exodus 20:21), but that cannot mean we sacrifice truth/honesty about our family of origin and family history (or else the writers of the Bible are in big trouble with God; but that cannot be because God inspired the writers of the Bible – II Timothy 3:16). Therefore, the conclusion must be that honesty does not violate honor. They coexist. If we favor one at the other’s expense, then we are out of balance.

Judges is proof of the Bible’s commitment to not sugar coat or gloss over reality. The Bible basically devotes an entire book to reveal a cycle of moral depravity, spiritual fickleness, and political fragmentation in Israel’s history. AND YET, God’s story of redemption continues to unfold.

This makes the story of God’s redemption all the more beautiful. How could anything “good” come from the crazy cycle found in Judges? Well, it makes me appreciate the book of Ruth so much more because Ruth takes place during the time of the judges. It is like a beacon of hope in the midst of the chaos, mess, and dysfunction. God’s kingdom is always advancing, even if it seems like we can’t see it in our immediate corner of the world.

Now let us relate this to our lives in a few spheres:

1. National and local history
2. Global church history
3. Our personal family history

Here are some questions to consider. Ask these in relation to the three spheres above.

1. Are you more likely to “honor” or be “honest” about history?
2. If you lean toward honor, when did you first learn to lie or hide the truth for the sake of honor?
3. Why is it important to live in the tension of honor and honesty?
4. How can being honest help you also honor history?
5. What negative effects are there if we only favor honor at the expense of honesty (OR vice versa)?

Tough to think about huh? It’s a difficult balance of course, but one the Bible does beautifully. Keep this in the back of your mind as you read the Scriptures. Consider how the Bible displays the principles of honor and honesty as it unfolds the story of God’s redemption. Then consider how you can apply this to your story, your family history, our church history, our national history, etc. Bringing God glory does not mean these stories will be perfect; it is through the imperfections that we sense the deep longings of our hearts for redemption and restoration.

One final thought. I recently learned about the Japanese art of kintsugi – repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted with gold, silver, or platinum. This makes the cracks visible. Instead of trying to cover the places where the pottery had been broken, kintsugi puts them on display. I think this is a picture of honor and honesty. I hope this provides you with a tangible picture too as you seek to apply both honor and honesty to your life!