RESPECT OTHERS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.

1 Peter 2:16 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We all have pet peeves, don’t we?

If we’re honest, I think we would confess this is true because it seems there is no shortage of things that are annoyances, things that seem to get under our proverbial skin and rub us the wrong way. These could include:

- People who drive slow in the fast lane on an interstate.

- Someone who keeps looking at their phone while you are trying to have a conversation with them.

- A person who never seems to remember to put the toilet seat down when they are done.

- Anyone who cuts into a line in front of others who have been waiting.

- Someone who sits and persistently taps their finger loudly on something.

- People who decide to take phone calls in public, usually in a store, talking loud enough that everyone can hear them.

- A person who is always interrupting someone else when they are talking.

- Anyone who talks during a movie.

- Someone who always comes off as if they know it all and/or seems to want to try and “one-up” someone in a conversation.

- Any pet owner who allows their pet to use your lawn for a bathroom and then doesn’t clean up after their animal.

The list could go on and on and on and on, and I’m sure you could add things that are specific to you like I can. And although I would like to consider myself in the top five percent of the most tolerant people in the world, I am human and have some frustrations in the way others do things. Probably right at the top of my list of aggravations would be the matter of disrespect.

I don’t know about you but I struggle with people who choose to treat me with disregard or contempt, especially when I make an intentional, concerted effort to treat every person like I myself would like to be treated. You know, the old golden rule that Jesus calls us to in the Gospel of Luke:

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31 NIV

Further, we find the Word of God doubling down on the call to respect others as we continue to look at the second chapter of Peter’s first letter when he writes these words to “God’s elect”, the “exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1):

Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king. 1 Peter 2:16 NLT

Did you catch the command there?

Through His Word, the Lord is demanding that we “respect everyone” and everyone means everyone. There no option for us to pick and choose who we respect and who we don’t, and this goes for our families, our churches, our workplaces, in politics, in sports, and in regard to anyone we encounter, no matter where we might encounter them.

Stop and think for a moment about how this would be a game changer if people would just be obedient to what the Lord calls them to do.

A driver in the fast lane who is going slower than other traffic would move to the right out of courtesy.

Everyone would set their phones down to make sure they fully honor the conversation someone wants to have.

No toilet seats would ever be left up again.

Everyone would take their place in line out of regard for those who were there first and have waited longer.

People would be mindful of their annoying habits and conscientiously correct them so to not be an annoyance to another.

Those receiving calls in public places would either tell the caller that they would return their call when they got to a more private spot or would go to a place where they could talk without impacting anyone around them.

Within a discussion, everyone would either wait for the other person to finish talking before they said anything, choosing to listen instead of interrupt. Or they would not try to come off like they were somehow superior to the person they were talking to, whether acting as if they know everything or have somehow done something more significant that what someone has told them about.

The movie theater would be completely silent as everyone just enjoyed the film without comment.

And pet owners would have their animals go in their own yards before leading them into someone else’s and if that wasn’t possible, make sure that their pet’s mess was cleaned up properly before moving on.  

As a whole, our world needs change, the kind of change the Lord would bring if people would just allow Him to dictate what they do, whether it’s respect or anything else. Thankfully, Christians already know this. We just need to obey and comply as we should in reverence to our Maker and Master.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.