Hi Rhys,
I think that mankind's concept of honoring one another is the basic idea of building up ones self-worth (the opposite of what God requires - "He must increase, but I must decrease" John 3:30), that is believed to be an absolute necessary for proper mental health. People want to be thought of as accomplished and successful by this world's standards. It's the nature of the beast/carnal mind to want to be looked up to by it's fellow beasts with worldly accomplishments.
John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
If we truly separate ourselves from worldly activities, then people we know may look on that with disdain, as haughtiness. But it's not possible to straddle the fence and stay in a good relationship with worldly/carnal desires and think we can still obey God the way He requires.
Luke 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
v. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
v. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
What is it for us to "deny himself, and take up his cross"? Well we do not have a physical/literal cross (as Christ did), but doesn't that represent what we need to sacrifice to serve God - our carnal desires of "friendship with the world"?
James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Paul gives us a whole list of what worldly/carnal behaviors are that we should not participate in, I like how New Living Translation (NLT) uses easy to understand words to relate to what spoken in this passage.
Gal 5:19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure,
v. 20 idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group,
v. 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Okay I just wanted to add a few more Scriptures to what you were saying, hope this is what you were speaking about.
mercy, peace and love
Kat