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Respect
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The word
“respect” has an interesting history. It was originally a
Latin word which meant “to look back to.” For instance, if
you see something that captures your attention, you’re apt
to look back to it or try to see it more closely. Today the
word means to have regard for something or someone, to show
esteem, to value. We sometimes use the word to describe giving
attention to something, to consider something carefully.
There are a number of areas where respect has been lost in
this day and age. People are so caught up in the business of
equality and personal rights that they don’t give due
respect to things that are actually very important. There are
some things that are so important that it behooves us to give
them special attention—due respect, if you please—and make
sure that they are not forgotten. For instance:
We need to respect God and His word. It is astounding
that in the midst of the best of times, numberless blessings,
and wealth beyond imagining, we have no time for God. How many
of us pray as we ought? How many of us read the word with any
degree of regularity. Even preachers can get so tied up with
trivial details, minutia, that they neglect the reading of
God’s word. We’re too busy, folks. God should be in our
thoughts at the beginning of our day, and the object of the
prayer we make at the end of the day. His word should be not
just our chore, but our pleasure. It the only source of the
information we must have to answer our needs of the here, as
well as the hereafter (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It is foolish indeed
to leave God out of our plans and to neglect His word.
We need to respect truth. The devil is very cunning
and crafty. He can contrive little subtle things that are
almost unnoticeable at the time, but which can eventually
cause considerable damage to our spiritual character. One of
the things he does with great frequency is cause us to make
truth relative. That is, he causes us to rationalize regarding
the truth. For instance, he causes us to say, “I’m
different.” If we’re not careful, we’ll apply truth to
others but when it comes to us, we have some reason why it
doesn’t apply. After all, I have a good reason—“I’m
different.” Truth is definitive. Its boundaries are
clear-cut, cleanly delineated (look at the word—it is de-lined).
That is, whatever it says to one, it says to all. It
plays no favorites, has no personal preferences. Paul treats
this very problem in Romans the second chapter. “And
thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such
things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the
judgment of God?” And again, “Thou therefore which
teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?” (Romans 2:3;
21). It cuts both ways, folks.
Children need to respect their parents. I hear
children talking to their parents in horrible ways in this day
and age. Such language not only shows a disrespect for one’s
parents, it is a sin against God. “Children, obey your
parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and
mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) that it
may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the
earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3). That is a commandment, young
people. It says that you should honor your father and
mother—that is, you should show a high regard for them, give
them a special place. And you don’t give them that kind of
respect when you don’t listen to them or when you react to
their wishes with a sullen attitude. Respect for parents is
one way you show your respect for God. It follows, then, that
when you don’t respect your parents like you should, you
don’t respect God. Think about that.
We need to have respect for age. I deplore hearing
someone refer to their father as “the old man.” It’s
disrespectful to them, to their age, to their station in life.
There is an almost a feeling among us that it’s a sin to be
old. Youth is the thing. It receives the attention, the
admiration of people. Youth is elevated, age is deplored.
Ponce de Leon searched for the fountain of youth—nobody ever
looks for the fountain of age. God abhors disrespect for the
aged. They were accorded special regard during both the
Patriarchal and Jewish ages. Moses gathered the Elders to help
him in his work (Exodus 3:16). In Exodus 18, he took advice
from his father-in-law, Jethro, a sure sign of respect for his
age. In the New Testament, God gave the work of superintending
the flock to elders, not youthful men. It is a sin against God
to neglect the aged (1 Timothy 5:16). And to pay no attention
to the elderly is the same as openly abusing them. Men who
have lived long lives are valuable to us. One writer I know
rather well said, “If we would take the time to hear them
instead of seeking so enthusiastically to compete with them,
we could profit greatly. Their advice is based on the result
of abrasives which have polished it to a lustre.” (The
Godly Family In A Sick Society, 1979, p. 71).
We need to respect the worship services. The wise man
said, “Keep thy foot when thou comest to the house of God
and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of
fools” (Ecclesiastes 5:1). It is a serious thing to offer
worship to God. It is a serious thing to act like you’re
worshiping God when you’re not (Matthew 6:5-6). Sham worship
is a terrible sin. It dishonors God. It desecrates and
dishonors who and what He is. For instance, when a person
doesn’t carefully examine himself and partake of the
Lord’s supper in a worthy manner, “he eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1
Corinthians 11:29). That’s serious business, folks. And
it’s the same for one who doesn’t sing “with the spirit
and the understanding” or merely goes through the motion of
prayer, even reciting the proper phrases and saying the
expected things, but without the involvement of his heart. It
is a dangerous thing to engage in worship that goes no where.
“God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship Him
in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
Respect. Now, there’s a word we’d all do well to remember.
Dee Bowman
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Copyright (C)
2008
Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.
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