Respect

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 5th of September, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We go to the First Book of Timothy 5:1-2: 

“Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.”

We have got to show respect to one another as Christians. It is very, very important. Our actions and manners are so important, especially in public and especially when we call ourselves followers of Jesus. I looked up the Oxford Dictionary to find out the literal meaning of the word, “Respect,” which says: “It is a feeling of admiration for someone because of their qualities or achievements.”

Now, it is very easy to respect someone you admire, who you look up to a great sportsman, maybe a great leader, maybe an intellectual, somebody who has written lots of books, maybe somebody who has been very successful in business, but sometimes it is hard to respect an old gentleman who is sitting in the gutter and he has made a complete mess of his life - but he is still an older man. Young men, we still have to honour older people. Do you know that the first promise in the Ten Commandments, the first commandment with a promise added to it, is number 5: 

“Honour your father and your mother so that your days may be long in the land...”
Exodus 20:12

It is a promise from God. We need to honour people who are older than us. So sometimes you have to sit next to that old man and put your arm around him. He might be a bit smelly and reeking from alcohol or drug abuse, but respect him, and that is all he needs. You know, he made a mistake, didn’t he? He took a wrong turn in the road and he has walked a long road and paid for it. Just look at the wrinkles on his face. You have still got to respect him. That old lady, carry her shopping basket to the motor car. If she says she will do it, say, “No, I insist.” It will make her feel so good. Protect that young girl. She might not be your sister but if she is a fellow believer and the guys are giving her a rough time, step up, boys, step up and tell the guys to back off otherwise, they are in trouble. 

I want to say to you, it is such a wonderful thing for me to sit and watch how young people respect older people, to see how young boys respect girls and don’t treat them cheaply. I want to say to you that those are the signs, those are the fruits of the Spirit that will draw people closer to Jesus. 

Have a wonderful day and be respectful, 
Goodbye.