We know that we are supposed to give way to others, we do know that we are supposed to honor one another. As with so many things, there is a wrong way to do this as well as a biblical way. Sexual immorality is to be avoided because it is important not to give your honor away. “Lest thou give thine honour unto others, And thy years unto the cruel.” (Prov. 5:9). And Jesus teaches us that there is a worldly system of crowd control that consists of giving one another awards, and that this lust is a barrier to true evangelical faith. “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44).
But with that said, we are still called upon to honor one another, and so there has to be a scriptural way to approach this. “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another” (Rom. 12:10).
Of course this should show up in the trifles of everyday life—letting others go first, giving way easily, deferring readily, not quarreling over silly things. Of course. But let us never forget where we are. The person sitting next to you is predestined to everlasting glory. As C.S. Lewis observes in The Weight of Glory, you have never dealt with a mere mortal. The very humblest of God’s elect, however challenged they might be in education, or social graces, or various besetting sins, is the kind of being who—if you were to see now what they will one day become—you would be tempted to fall down and worship. It would be a temptation, and that person would raise you up, as the angel did John, and tell you that he is only a servant like you. And that would also be true.
So never forget the big picture. Give true honor to one another. This does not just mean urging them to go through the door first, or offering them dessert first. This also means that your prayers, your efforts, your inclinations, should all be conspiring to pray down glory on those you know. And what will it mean in the resurrection if that person winds up with more glory bestowed on him than you received? Ah, that will be true delight. Best thing ever.
Oh, amen to this! Very well said.