Conflict has a way of revealing what is really in us.
In “Conflict Resolution 3: Honor & Order,” Bishop Omar Thibeaux continues teaching from Jasher 31:75–77, where Rebecca gives Jacob wisdom before he faces Esau. This was not a small disagreement. Esau was angry, and Jacob had to walk into a painful family conflict with humility, wisdom, and obedience.
Rebecca’s instructions were clear. Jacob was not to speak rashly. He was to bring a gift. He was to conceal nothing. Then she told him that it was his duty to honor Esau because he was his elder brother. Bishop shows that this was a masterclass in conflict resolution because Jacob had to do the right thing even though it hurt.
Honor Does Not Disappear During Conflict
One of the strongest truths in this message is that conflict does not cancel honor.
Bishop reminds us that people often allow anger, bitterness, disappointment, or old wounds to change the way they speak. But Rebecca told Jacob to honor Esau. That meant Jacob had to remember order even while dealing with pain.
Honor changes the tone of a conversation. It affects how we speak, how we listen, how we acknowledge someone, and how we treat them. Bishop used the example of a courtroom to show that when someone is honored, the whole room changes. The words are different. The posture is different. The listening is different.
That is what many conflicts are missing. People want resolution, but they do not want to bring honor into the room.
Truth Matters in Conflict
Before Bishop fully moved into honor, he dealt with another part of Rebecca’s instruction: conceal nothing.
Jacob had a history of bending the truth, and Rebecca knew that when pressure came, he might be tempted to hide something, stretch something, or lie to get out of trouble. Bishop reminded us that lying never solves conflict. It may delay the discomfort, but it creates greater trouble later.
A lie shifts the focus from the real issue to the dishonesty. Once the lie is discovered, the conversation is no longer only about what happened. Now it becomes, “You lied to me.” Bishop called this a trap because one lie often requires another lie to maintain it.
The goal in conflict is not to win the argument. The goal is peace. That means truth has to matter more than pride.
Honor Begins With God
Bishop teaches that the first place honor belongs is with Yahweh.
If God created us, saved us, and gave us everything good, then He should never be treated as common or disposable. Honor begins with recognizing His value and responding to Him with reverence. Bishop connects honor to how we speak to God, listen to God, acknowledge God, and treat Him as the Father above all.
That matters because how we honor God shapes how we honor people. If we do not understand reverence toward the Father, it becomes harder to walk in honor toward others.
Honor in the Family
Bishop then brings the message into the home.
He teaches that parents must be honored, even when there has been conflict. Honor is not presented as a suggestion, but as a command. The sermon makes it clear that honoring parents does not mean pretending everything was perfect. It means choosing to approach them in the right spirit because God commanded honor.
Bishop also speaks about spouses and the biblical family. He explains that marriage should be an honor relationship, where husband and wife treat one another as valuable and not disposable. In that kind of relationship, tone matters. Listening matters. Respect matters. Service matters.
When honor is missing in the home, disorder follows. Children learn how to speak, listen, respect authority, and treat people by what they see in the house.
Recovering the Language of Honor
A major theme in this sermon is that many homes and communities have lost the language of honor.
Bishop teaches that love is often taught by mothers, but honor is often taught by fathers. When fathers are absent, present but detached, or stripped of their God-given role, children can grow up without learning how honor works. That affects how they respond to parents, spouses, teachers, leaders, and God Himself.
Bishop also connects this to historical trauma and the damage done to Black families through slavery, separation, and systems that disrupted the role of fathers and husbands. In the sermon, he frames this as a spiritual and family order issue that must be healed, not ignored.
The message is not about blaming men or women. Bishop emphasizes that the answer is not gender conflict. The answer is restoration, healing, and getting the home back in order.
Peace Needs Order
This sermon reminds us that peace is not only emotional. Peace is connected to order.
When there is no truth, conflict grows. When there is no honor, relationships break down. When there is no order, people stop knowing how to speak, listen, lead, follow, serve, and forgive.
Rebecca told Jacob to honor Esau because he was his elder brother. That instruction was not easy, but it was necessary. Jacob had to humble himself, face the conflict, tell the truth, and honor the order God allowed.
That is still the call today.
If we want peace in our homes, marriages, families, churches, and communities, we must recover honor. We must speak truth. We must stop using conflict as an excuse to dishonor people. We must let God restore order in us first.
Conflict may be unavoidable, but chaos is not required.
God has given His people a better way.
