We must honor God by living life as He has directed—
every day! This means honoring those above us, being
subject to them.

If your superiors mistreat you, crying and moaning
won’t help. If you keep crying, “They don’t like
me,” then they won’t. There really is no reason for
them to like you. They don’t know God, and you are
acting like you don’t either.

You are a man or woman of honor. What do you
do when someone cheats you out of your vacation or
your overtime pay or your rightful promotion? You
say: “Lord, You know what’s happening here. I’m being
treated unjustly. You know it, I know it, and they
know it. I just turn this situation over to You. You
handle it any way You want.”

Then a strange thing will happen: In the end,
you will come out ahead. How will that happen? By
honoring God, then living in His honor and by your
own honesty.

There is nothing that we can’t accomplish in
honor, in God’s honor. There is no place we can’t go, no
goal we can’t reach—if we keep an honorable attitude.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Servants, be subject to your masters with all
fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to
the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man
for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering
wrongfully (1 Peter 2:18-19).

The Amplified Bible says verse 17 this way: “Show
respect for all men [treat them honorably].”
Servants—employees—be subject to your bosses
with all honor.

In verse 17 of this chapter we are told to fear God.
If you look up the Greek word translated fear, you will
find that it relates to reverence. We are to reverence
the Lord. In the same way, in verse 18 we are told to
fear or reverence or give due respect and honor to our
masters—our employers.

We know this is true because it is verified in other
scriptures. The writings of Paul say the same thing.
He wrote to young Timothy: “Let as many servants as
are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of
all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be
not blasphemed” (1 Timothy 6:1).

Notice that we are to give reverence and honor not
only to the good bosses and gentle masters but also to
the “froward.” The word froward means “disobedient
or ugly.”

Even when our boss is not good, not gentle, not
obedient to God, we are to honor him. We are under
obligation to treat him with honor and respect, even
though he may treat us with dishonor and disrespect.
To do this is “thankworthy.” The New International
Version translates this word as commendable.

Thankworthy is an old King James English word that
is so strong, and so powerful, we need to bring it back
into our vocabulary. It is thankworthy if a man, for the
sake of conscience toward God, endures grief, suffering
wrongfully.

If you will treat with honor a dishonorable boss or
superior, you will find favor with God. Of course, you
don’t have to stay there unless God tells you to, but as
long as you work for him, be subject to him. Walk in
love. Love never fails. Treat him with honor just as you
would if he were good and gentle, even though he is
disobedient to God. This is thankworthy, worthy of
thanks from God.

In this passage, God is saying to us: “I want to
thank you for representing Me there on earth the way
I really am, instead of the way the world thinks I am.
I want to thank you for looking and acting like Jesus.
Don’t worry about the one who is abusing or mistreating
you. I will take care of him.”

God may move you out of that situation, but most
likely, you will be an influence on your superior, and
you may even win him to the Lord.

It’s imperative for you to believe God, and then act
like you believe. You must believe and show your honoring
of that belief.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

One time a preacher came into a convenience
store where I was shopping. He was trying to talk
the clerk into giving him a discount on his shotgun
shells because he was a minister. It embarrassed
me. It almost made me want to curse so that clerk
wouldn’t think I was a preacher, too.

I just stood there and shook my head.

The clerk behind the counter got really irritated at
the man. He could not have given him a discount, even
if he had wanted to, because he did not own the store.
I thought, My goodness, I can guess what this guy is
going to start saying about preachers.

It doesn’t have to be that way, and it shouldn’t be
that way. The first time I really saw how it should be
was while I was a student at Oral Roberts University.

Someone told me how Brother Roberts had responded
when a barber offered him a discount on his haircut.
“No sir,” said Brother Roberts. “I don’t accept
discounts just because I’m a preacher. I’m not a
poor man.”
He would not receive it.

“I’ll pay the same price as anybody else,” he told
the barber. “If God puts it in your heart to invest a portion
of your income as an offering in this ministry, or
any other ministry, that’s between you and Him; but
I’ll pay the full price for my own haircut.”

That thrills me. It thrilled that barber, too. He
hadn’t had many preachers coming in and talking to
him like that. Some of them would probably beg him
out of his combs if he would give them away.

We are going to have to stop this begging business
and dishonorable activity. It is a losing attitude for
ministers—and for all believers. It is a bad representation
of our Lord. Do you think Jesus would be begging
people for a discount? No, no, a thousand times, no!

You never heard Jesus beg. You never heard Him
stand up and mock anyone, not even the government.
To have biblical honor means to honor and obey the
political authorities, even in the face of bad government
and poor treatment. You cannot get much worse
government and poorer treatment than what was
coming out of Rome in Jesus’ day.

You never heard Jesus criticize others behind their
backs. If He had anything to say about others, He
said it to them face to face. Because of that, the Bible
says that many of the Jews and Pharisees followed
Him. We tend to focus on the ones who opposed and
rejected Him, but the Bible says that many of them
did believe on Him and follow Him—in fact, great
numbers of them did.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and
pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul; having your conversation honest
among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak
against you as evildoers, they may by your good
works, which they shall behold, glorify God in
the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Where do we get the word honest? If you will
study the way this word developed, you will see that
it is related to honor. Honor, honesty and truth are
closely related concepts.

Peter is saying here, “Let your conversation—your
manner of life—be honorable among the gentiles.”
Among the Jews of Peter’s day the word gentile
was used to refer to nations or people without God.
If you study the book of Ephesians, you will see that
at one time you and I were gentiles, but now we who
were afar off have been brought near to God by the
blood of His Son Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

This passage is talking about the way we should
act toward those who don’t know God. Our honorable
manner of life, our living honestly among the gentiles,
is important. Oh, how important it is.

Let just one or two preachers get in trouble and
suddenly all preachers have trouble because of the
way a few “Christian” ministers have lived their lives
and conducted their business. Instead of walking in
honor before the gentiles, these few have disgraced
and damaged all believers. We need to understand
what God intends for us to do and what we can
expect of Him.

Expect of Him? Yes, we expect of Him. If we don’t
expect something from God when we act on the
Word, all we are doing is just making a tradition out of
it. We are doing things because someone said we are
supposed to do it instead of because God said it and
we’re acting on His Word.

We must learn to walk honestly before the gentiles,
so they will behold our good works and glorify
our heavenly Father.

Submit to God-Ordained Authority

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man
for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as
supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that
are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers,
and for the praise of them that do well.

For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may
put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak
of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear
God. Honour the king (1 Peter 2:13-17).

We are not to use our freedom to hide our shady
dealings. We don’t use our power or reputation to take
advantage of someone. We must not use our position
and the respect due us as a preacher of the gospel or
as a child of God to defraud anyone.
Some do, though, and it reflects badly on all of
us—and on the Church of Jesus Christ.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries