Life Advice

Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

1 Peter 2:17

It's one sentence with plenty of good advice.

Many civilizations have risen and fallen on the first phrase - "show proper respect to everyone" - and there are certainly times when many of our public outlets and many of us personally fall short of what should be a baseline of respect for others.

Just think how many interpersonal conversations could improve if respect is the starting point?  Aretha Franklin sang about wanting a little "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" and it's something we all tend to think we deserve; even if we expect others to earn our respect.

It's human nature to denigrate others who might be different than us.  That means less or no respect, and missing out on the opportunity to learn.  Respect doesn't mean having to agree with someone else, but listening to their views and asking questions about how they came to those conclusions.

Love is a good step up from respect - here Peter is urging his audience to care for their extended family at a higher level than a neighbor or stranger in trouble.  We should care for and respect those neighbors and strangers - wouldn't it make sense if we did more for those we know?

You might interpret fear in a variety of ways.  Fear could represent cowering in the corner as we worry about the bad things that might befall us in an encounter.  But fear can also (and I believe it does here) mean a high level of respect.  If you are in front of a judge in their courtroom - respect comes because of the robes and power given to the official in determining your fate.

Honor is nearly a lost concept now.  Sure, we honor the winning team with a championship parade, but honor is another high level form of showing respect and one which we have seemed to have lost touch.

An example politically is the Office of President, but it could be any public position. 

We might disagree completely with the individual's position on the issues, but the office deserves respect and honor.  On a broad basis, this is a call to citizenship - paying the taxes we owe, serving in our civic duties when called upon, voting, and answering calls to serve the country and our fellow man.

Those 15 words don't take much space - but think of how they might change the world if we started to live what they say!

Thanks for reading... I'll see you tomorrow.