50 Days to More

A Seven Week Campaign to Begin 2018

Week 4: Investing in Uncommon Mentorship Which Promotes You

Day Twenty-Six (2/1/18): Honoring Your Mentor
Recommended Reading: Ruth 4:13-17

Honor is the key that unlocks the heart of an uncommon mentor. It turns them toward you for promotion! When we honor special people in our lives, we are actively showing them that we respect them, uphold them, and appreciate them. Honor is the willingness to reward difference. If you have a mentor in your life, think about why you’ve chosen them to be your mentor. Chances are that they have something to offer you that no one else can. They may be full of wisdom and knowledge that you crave and know you can’t find on your own. They are different. If you find someone “different”--whether they are wiser, stronger, or able to impart something in your life--they deserve to be honored for that.

A perfect biblical example of this is Ruth. If you recall, we talked about Ruth and Naomi briefly a few days ago. Naomi and her family left Judah during a famine. The traveled to Moab where their sons married two Moabite women. Naomi’s husband and her two sons died, and all she had were her daughters-in-law. When the crop in Judah was restored, she planned to travel back home. However, she begged her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab where they could find new husbands to take care of them. Her daughter-in-law Ruth refused to leave Naomi, saying,

“Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” Ruth 1:16-17 (NLT)

Ruth recognized that her mother-in-law was a wise, godly woman and she would not live life without being under her mentorship. This dedication and honor to Naomi led Ruth to find favor with Boaz. Boaz was a wealthy man who eventually married Ruth and led her and Naomi to prosperity.

Whatever you honor moves toward you and whatever you dishonor moves away from you. Ruth showed a tremendous amount of honor to Naomi by leaving her life behind to be with her mother-in-law. She could have easily stayed in Moab and found another husband, but her loyalty to Naomi and desire for her mentorship caused her to leave. Because of that, she married an extremely wealthy and influential man. She and Naomi ended up having a better life than either of them could have dreamed of!

The doorway into uncommon wisdom is honor. In mentorship, honor is necessary for acceleration and increase. Honor is the key that unlocks the heart of your mentor. Do you truly honor your mentor? Do you value them and respect them the way they deserve? Think about these things today and consider what you can do in order to honor you mentor for who they are and what they do for you!

“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7 (NIV)

Compiled by Christine Thompson & Meredith Hobbs
Taken from the Sermon Series “7 Steps to One Thousand Times More”
By Pastor Timothy Coats
Family First Church - Spring Hill, Florida