Respect

What does respect mean? The second definition of respect in the dictionary is: "due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others." God defines this as honor, 1 Peter 2:17, "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king." Put another way, it allows others to enjoy their God-given right to choose what they will do with this life. God asks us to use this freedom to choose to follow Him, Deuteronomy 30:19, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:" He will respect our choice. If we pick this life only, He will allow us this life, 1 John 5:11-12, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." If we pick Him and eternity, He will allow us to live with Him in eternity, John 14:2-3, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

Respect is not something we earn any more than love. God loves us unconditionally, even when we deny Him; Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." We learn to love because God loves us; 1 John 4:19, "We love him, because he first loved us." We learn to respect when we understand the respect God freely gives us. Respect is one of the fruits of our love, as is peace and gentleness. Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." When we learn to love as God loves, the fruits of the Spirit flow out of us. They are like facets in the diamond of our love. Each one shining to draw people to God.

So, when we love like Jesus, we show respect to everyone, we are peaceful with everyone, we are longsuffering with everyone, etc. We are asked to continue to do these things as long as it is in our power to do them; Proverbs 3:27, "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." and Romans 12:18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." How does this play out in real life? In the movie "Dangerous Minds" the teacher, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, tells her underprivileged students they will all start the semester with an A grade. If they study hard, they can keep it. They don't have to earn it. They already have it. They just need to keep it. The students were surprised because they had never gotten an A grade before. This is how God treats us; all we have to do is accept the A grade and begin living the way He has designed all things to work together for good, Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

The problem is we are not capable of living a perfect life. So, Jesus came down to live that life as a substitute for everyone who accepts Him as their savior, 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." and 1 Peter 2:24, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." and Isaiah 53:5-6, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Jesus calls us to respect others so that we can then receive the respect of others, which leads people to choose Him and eternity. Much like love, if we misunderstand respect and only give it to those we feel deserve it, it will be of no value; Luke 6:31-32, "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them." We want others to respect us enough to allow us to make our own decisions, so we should offer them the same respect. This is why He tells us to pray for all people, including our leaders, whether we like them or not; 1 Timothy 2:1-2, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;"

He tells us why we need to respect everyone because it is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Can we not see God loves everyone? He wants everyone to feel that love and respect is part of it. When we disrespect our police officers, we are actually disrespecting ourselves. Their job is to protect and defend us. How would we like to protect and defend people who hate us? Learning to do unto others as we would like them to do unto us is a major theme in God's teachings, and He asks us to do this before they deserve it; Luke 6:31, "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." We don't do it because they deserve it; we do it because that is how we want to be treated. It is also how we learn to love God, which leads us to Him and the eternity He offers. It is so easy to get confused and withhold our respect from others. Unfortunately, this results in us unintentionally hurting ourselves.

Let us respect everyone until they reject God, then let us politely walk away. Matthew 10:14, "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."

God has placed us in unique places throughout this world. This blog is about sharing His Word; please share it with those you believe would be blessed by hearing it. Bless you! If you want to receive the Quarterly Newsletter, email us at bill@reasoningwithgod.com. If you want to read past blogs, go to https://www.reasoningwithgod.com/blog.