Honoring Men and Women of God

How often do we speak of how much a man or woman of God has blessed us? All the time, men and women in leadership in the Kingdom of God give freely of themselves – often to their own detriment. In reflecting this week through various trials, I couldn’t help but think of men and women who have truly given of themselves, and have been a tremendous blessing to ME. I am sure each of you reading this can think of a time when someone gave of their time, their resources, their energy, and their anointing to bless you, help you, encourage you, get you delivered/ healed, gave you wisdom, or any combination of the above. Romans 13:7 tells us to “Give to everyone what is owed them: if taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” It is clear that we often share our gratitude with a “thank you” or a letter of appreciation, but how often do we really show our gratitude by something that costs us?
Let me present this from another angle, one not so spiritual at all: I buy my mother flowers regularly. I don’t buy them for her because she loves the flowers (she does!). I buy them for her because I want to honor her with the flowers because of all she has done for me, and even more so because I want her to enjoy the flowers while she is alive. I don’t want to just send flowers to her gravesite one day. What I am trying to say is that we should bless and honor and truly show support for the men and women of God who have forged the way for us, or who have helped us along our journey. 1 Corinthians 9:11, 14 says, “11Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink?... 14In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it.”
My challenge for you is this: find the men and women of God who have been a blessing to you, who have helped you grow to where you are today, and bless them by financially supporting them. Most of them have never, and likely will never, ask you for money. Bless them anyway, without them having to ask! Here is my simple challenge for you: buy them lunch. I realize you may not be in the same state or even country as he or she is, so I mean this figuratively. Literally, I mean, give them an offering equal to you buying their lunch. If you can only afford a 99 cent cheeseburger, so be it. If you can afford to buy them steak and lobster, then by all means, do it! Show the men and women of God in your life your appreciation, and bless them!