Level 1
Lesson 20: Giving God Honor

Jesus wanted all people to honor and love God. He taught ways in which they could do so. One day Jesus told some people a story. The story was to help them know how to honor God when they prayed. And this was Jesus’ story:

Two men went to the Temple to pray. The first man was very proud of himself. He stood where everyone would see that he was praying.

He stood straight and looked upward. He said, “God, I thank thee that I am not like other people. I am glad that I am not a sinner like this man here.”

The second man stood off in a corner. He bowed his head. He knew that he needed God’s help. He prayed, “God, be merciful to me. I am a sinner.”

That was the story Jesus told. The people listened to it. They knew that the second man in the story was the one who honored God.

The first man really had thought about his own goodness rather than about God. He had honored himself instead of God.

Another time, Jesus’ friends asked Him to teach them to pray. The prayer that Jesus taught them began with these words:

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

If we hallow God’s name we honor it. We do not use it carelessly or thoughtlessly. That is another way in which we can honor God when we speak.

Jesus also taught that we can honor God in other ways that are even more important than what we say.

He repeated the Bible words, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” That had been wrong of them.

Jesus taught that we should do more than honor God with what we say. We also should honor Him by loving Him and by living as He wishes us to live.