Every Person Is Worthy of Respect

In review of 1 Peter 2:17 it says, “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

Bottom Line:

Respect everyone, love others, take God seriously, follow those in authority.

What this means to me:

I am to show proper respect to everyone, especially loving the family of believers. I am to take God seriously and respect those in authority.

Today's passage comes from the middle of 1 Peter chapter 2 in which Paul is speaking about respecting those in authority. He says for the Lord's sake, we should submit to all human authority, whether the king or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

It is God's will that our honorable lives should silence those who make foolish accusations against us. While we are free, we are God's slaves, so don't use our freedom as an excuse to do evil.  We are to respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king. So, not only am I to respect authority, but I am to also respect everyone equally.

It seems that respect has become an endangered value over the past few decades. We now live in the “Age of Irreverence,” where sarcasm rules the day and everyone loves a good put down.

Scriptures makes it clear that stable families and societies are built around respect. The Bible commands us to honor our parents, respect civil authority, and respect church leaders. Wives are called to respect husbands in Ephesians. In the book of 1 Peter, husbands are called to respect wives. Just to make it clear that the Bible leaves no one out, the Bible also tells us to “show proper respect to everyone” (1 Peter 2:17a NIV).

Everyone, regardless of beliefs or behaviors, is worthy of respect because God made everyone. Psalm 8:5 says, “You [God] made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor” (GNT). God doesn’t make junk. No one is worthless. People make wrong decisions all the time, but they are still valuable to God. Even the most unlovable person in the world is loved by God.

Jesus died for everyone. The Bible says, “God paid a ransom to save you .... He paid for you with the precious life blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19a TLB). You may not place much value in certain people, but God does. In fact, he says every person you meet is worth dying for.

It shows you know God. The Bible tells us that God is love. If you know God, you’ll fill your life with love. The Bible says, “If a person isn’t loving and kind, it shows that he doesn’t know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). Love always treats people with respect.

It’s the law of the harvest, you’ll get back whatever you give out. Whatever goes around comes around. If you want to be respected, you must treat other people with respect. The Bible says, “A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows” (Galatians 6:7b Phillips).

Today I will consider how every person I meet today is worthy of my respect. Given this, wow will this change my behavior?