Required Respect vs Earned Respect
From the Principal: Required Respect vs. Earned Respect This concept might not be popular, but it is true. The biblical view of respect defies the world’s logic that says, “You have to EARN my respect!” Don’t get me wrong, there are situations where respect can be (and should be) earned, but the respect I am talking about is the respect that God requires of each of us toward each other.
Do you have to earn the respect of your children? No. God commands children to honor their parents regardless of the parents’ shortcomings (Eph. 6:2).
Do the governing authorities have to earn your respect? No. Romans 13, written by a man who was wrongfully imprisoned and martyred by the government, calls for us to submit to the authority God puts over us.
Do you have to respect that obnoxious neighbor, that slow person in line in front of you, that horrible driver, or that ridiculous… you get the point. And the answer is, “Yes!” Read Matthew 7:12, Titus 2:7, or I Corinthians 10:33 for reference.
This is what we should be teaching our children, and this is what we should be modeling for each other every day. I Peter 2:17 sums it up well: “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” Mr. Tom Krick, Principal