This is something I've always wondered about. When I think of honoring someone, it's usually for something I admire. A judge for being just, a clerk for helping me at a store, a singer for exquisite use of her voice, and so on. Then I realized that I was honoring them for who they are, much more so than for what they do.
The same, I believe, is true in these verses. God is being God. He created man to worship Him. When man does not do what he is created to do, God must intervene.
As leaders, we do not always know who will listen and who will not. If we are true to our word, walking the walk and not just talking the talk, we may receive the honor due us. However, if God cannot guarantee that His followers will honor Him, how can an earthly leader do so? I don't think that leaders should demand honor. If they are honoring God, He will also honor them.
I wonder if any Egyptians came to be God because of what occurred in Egypt. It is a pretty compelling reason to believe! (John 10) 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.