As a wildlife photographer, you can imagine my joy when I found out my street is frequently visited by foxes. So far, I have identified a total of three of them, but one in particular seems to actually live here. In an attempt to get better photos, I have started feeding the foxes, one of whom now shows up every night, almost without fail, at 1am. This one, I have given a name: Osteen, after prosperity preacher Joel Osteen.
The reason I chose this particular name is Osteen is greedy. He made me laugh particularly hard on the night I named him. He approached my pile of bait for the third time that night, having already taken 3 leftover chicken drumsticks. At this particular moment, Osteen does not trust me. He knows I won't rush him if he approaches the bait, but he is still very cautious as he does so. So, seeing me sitting on the ground nearby, he froze. "It's ok foxy", I said, quietly, and almost immediately, he came over and picked up a sausage roll. And another... It wasn't too long before he had all 5 sausage rolls in his mouth at once, and he tried to pick up the last chicken drumstick, too. His mouth wasn't quite large enough, so he dropped that, realised he wasn't getting it, and fled the scene to eat them. He came back for that drumstick not long after.
Because of his greed, I thought Osteen would be the perfect name for this little fox. But what I find interesting is two responses I heard to it. First, when I posted a picture of him to my Facebook, one of my friends replied "Osteen? OSTEEN? Can't we name him "JMac?"" But this morning, in church, I showed another friend my most recent video of the fox, and told him that he's "named after notorious prosperity preacher, Joel Osteen". His response, rather than disgust, was to point out that God honors all men, and tells us to do the same.
It interests me, first of all, to see that neither of my friends saw the fox's name as the joke I intended it to be. Both of them saw it as a way of honoring Joel Osteen. But they both had differing attitudes, as well. My Facebook friend, understandably, thought John MacArthur would be more worthy of honor, conceding with my chosen name only after I explained why I chose it. But my church friend immediately thought it was some noble attempt to honor the dishonorable.
I cannot change the circumstances behind Osteen's name. He is, and will forever be, named only because of his apparent greed, reflecting his namesake. But I can use this interesting scenario to glorify our God, an edify His Church. To do so, first, I will point out that the Bible actually does tell us to honor all men. This would include, of course, those who, in our view, are not worthy of it. Joel Osteen may well be a charlatan who frequently twists scripture, and makes large amounts of money while doing so. But he is not outside the love of God, nor is he listed as any kind of exception to God's command to honor all men.
But consider this, too: we are not worthy of honor. Even John MacArthur is, in his own right, a sinner, not worthy to lick the sandal of the God who hung on the cross for him. Honor has never been about the object of it. If God was to name an animal after me, I certainly know I would have no right to ask for something as noble as a greedy fox. I don't even deserve to know this fox. Like all of my fellow men, I have rebelled against Him in many grievous ways, each of my sins carrying one fair wage: Death. Yet He gives me life abundantly, suffering the scorn of men in order to bring it to me! Let us therefore bring glory to God by honoring not only those who, in our eyes, are worthy of it, but also those who we find it hard to honor. In the end, those who refuse His gift of life will be blotted out from eternity, and we will never have to think on them again. Should they repent, we will rejoice with them in the same Kingdom. John MacArthur, Joel Osteen, neither of these men deserve honor, but we are commanded by the God who honors the dishonorable to give it to them anyway.