Thought for Monday, March 25th

March 25, 2013

Respect

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Acts  10:34-35

“The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.”

-       George Bernard Shaw

Respect is an often sought after; greatly desired affirmation that most of us hope for and many long for as a validation to who we are and what we represent.  Yet for many the degree or level, of respect they desire sometimes seems elusive and even at times unattainable.

It would seem that, to some extent, we have become a highly skeptical society, who has little or not trust in most of what we see and what we hear.  And of course the inconsistencies and discrepancies perpetrated upon us by the media and many of our leaders cause us to be somewhat skeptical and thus disrespectful.

And it seems we are teaching our younger generation less and less respect for authority.  If I would have spoken to my teachers or school administrators, or my parents the way many youth do today, I might have had some difficultly with my seating arrangements for a day or two.

And even more sadly, we seem to have transferred this same lassie-faire attitude towards respect to God in our Christian lives too.

Not only are we skeptical of those individuals God has chosen to be our spiritual leaders: but we also find ourselves questioning God and more often than not: doubting that God is really going to do what He has promised too in His word.

I believe that when we are instructed to fear God: it means we are charged to honor and respect Him: to trust Him and to believe that whatever He tells us is true.

I know with us humans there are often plenty of reasons for doubt and uncertainty; but this is not the case with God.

He has never failed.  He has never fallen short and He has never disappointed or let us down.  It is we who have let Him down.

I have always heard that to get respect, you have to give respect: but I don’t deserve God’s though He certainly deserves mine.

Today’s Prayer

Father, I know I often say I respect you and want to honor you; but I know I don’t always live up to my claim: so help me in my weaknesses and give me grace, strength and boldness to live to the level that will give you the respect you truly deserve.