Title: Learn to show proper respect | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: September 28, 2022 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 5, No. 20
“Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” (1Peter 2:17NIV) One of the things I have learnt by experience is that people, especially in my own part of the world, open doors of attention and favour more readily to those who show them proper respect. Someone may lack character or abilities in many ways. But if they know how to show proper respect to those in their lives or those that they come across, certain doors of favour will have been opened for them before anyone starts asking questions about their character or competence.
So, when we are told in our opening bible text to show proper respect to everyone, it is for our own good. You too know how you often feel when someone does not give you the level of respect you believe you deserve. You feel bad and irritated. You may not show it, so that you don’t appear arrogant. But you know in your heart that certain doors of favour, attention or help have automatically closed against that person who has disrespected you or who is continually disrespecting you.
In like manner, when you too disrespect people that you are supposed to respect or when you do not show them adequate and proper respect, you are unconsciously shutting against yourself certain doors of attention or favour that they are in a position to open for you. And unless God Himself ministers to them and causes them to overlook your flaws in this area, you may never get anything good from them in life.
By the way, some people so detest being disrespected that they are willing to punish those who disrespect them in very terrible ways. You may be familiar with the bible story of Haman and Mordecai. Why did Haman make a move to wipe out all the Jews in the kingdom of King Xerxes? It was because of Mordecai. But what did Mordecai do to him to warrant that? Mordecai would not give him the respect that he believed he deserved as the emperor’s right-hand man. (Cf. Esther 3-7)
Now was Mordecai right to disrespect the emperor’s right-hand man? No! God did not put this story in the bible to teach us that nothing is wrong with disrespecting our leaders or those we are supposed to honour. That would be against His will as revealed in all Scriptures. Rather, He put the story in the bible to show us how far certain people may go in order to punish those who disrespect them. (Cf. Rom 13:1-7; 1Peter 2:13-14)
Haman was willing to wipe out an entire nation of people simply because one of them dishonoured him. And if God had not stepped into the situation to show this wicked man, who was himself arrogant, that he had gone too far, many lives would have been lost in his quest to preserve his honour.
Interestingly, there are still people like Haman in the world today. There are still people that will be willing to take away your life, your job, your position or certain beautiful things that could be yours because you will not show them proper respect. And my prayer is that you will never be a victim of the anger of such people, in Jesus’ name.
However, you too should learn to recognise those in your life and in your world and to show them proper respect, based on their status or their relationship with you. Learn to show proper respect to your parents, the elderly people around you, your superiors at work, the dignitaries in the society, your instructors, your leaders in the church and even your friends. Yes, you may be older, richer or more knowledgeable than some of these people. But the word of God to you is that you are to show them proper respect. Otherwise, it is not only their reward that you may miss; you will also miss the reward of obeying God’s word.
Do you know that you can also close certain doors of favour against yourself by not showing your friends, subordinates or younger ones adequate respect? A younger person in your family or neighbourhood may be in a position to help you in certain ways. But if you are continually talking down to them and ignoring the need to respect their status in life, maybe their marital status or academic status, they may just shut their heart of compassion against you where they could have been of great help.
Remember that one major reason our Lord Jesus could not do any mighty work in His own hometown was that they did not show Him proper respect (Mark 6:1-6). And only God knows how many are missing the miracles and promotion that could be theirs because of a similar culture of disrespect. So, change your ways, if you are one of those arrogant and disrespectful ones that don’t take anyone seriously. Or else you may someday learn your lessons in a very hard way.
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