Respect Part 2

Ok, so I decided to do another post on respect because evidently I was not clear in my previous one and I left some important things out. I want to clear up some stuff about it; I didn't plan that post at all, it was really random and impulsive, so I really didn't consider all the aspects of what I was stating. So I decided that I would put what I was saying into a statement, or a couple of short sentence points on what I believe on this subject.

• I believe that everybody deserves a level of respect as a person because God made them.
• I DO NOT believe that just because they are over us means we have to agree with them 100% or at all.
• I DO NOT believe that we should obey orders that go against God and what he says in the scriptures. (i.e if the president asked me to lie about something, I would not do it.)
• I believe that we should not talk disrespectfully about those in position over us.
• I DO NOT believe that the above means that we cannot openly disagree with them.

I hope this clears some things up about what I was saying. Sorry for the confusion. 

Who Deserves Respect?

My family does devotions every morning after breakfast. They are really short, but are a great way to start the day. Today we talked about honoring authorities; and what that means when one is a Christian, and how to follow God by honoring others.

Since I got a Facebook account, I have realized that a lot of people disagree with the government; not only do they just disagree, they are very adamant about their opinions. And most of them want to share their strong opinions with a wide audience: everyone on Facebook. Recently there has been a lot of this, people complaining about our president in a degrading and disrespectful way which made our family devotion very thought provoking. So who deserves our respect?

Romans 13: 1-7 says the following:
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience." (ESV)

Now it is important for us to realize that just because we are to respect authorities, does not mean we have to agree with what the person over us says and does. It means we are to respect that person(s) because God set them in place over us. We are to honor and respect them because we are to honor and respect God.

There is also the fact that God made them, just like He made us. So they deserve respect on that level already because they are God's creation and a human being like everyone else.

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Romans 12:10. (ESV)   

So who deserves our respect? Everyone, even those who do wrong.