Honor One Another

Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves”. When Paul writes this to the Roman churches, he wants them to devote themselves to one another and to honor one another. When he speaks of devotion to one another, the root word implies the same affection we would show to our children or to our spouses. So Paul wanted them to have the same relational capacity and love towards each other as they did for their own families. This will lead to the honoring Paul then mentions. When we honor one another we value someone above ourselves. The other word not translated well in our English bibles is the Greek word proēgeomai which means to lead or go before. So a literal translation of this verse would be “in brotherly love, be devoted to one another, in honor to one another give preference (lead/go before)”. When we help lead someone, it’s important that we do it in honor and not in a way to degrade or disgrace the other person. Paul wants his readers to make sure they are unified and devoted to one another in love and by doing so are helping lead each other in honor.