Meditations from Zion

Interesting juxtaposition of these words: taxes, revenue, respect and honor. In the arena of respect, it seems we hear more about earning respect than paying. Perhaps the greater problem is on the payment side. In the same way we cheat (just a little) on our taxes, we are probably cheating on respect.

Romans 13:7
Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Should someone or something be paid respect by position alone? Teens, in particular, unless drilled repeatedly, show more disdain for showing respect than any other debt. Position is no longer enough to garner respect.

I remember when there was a huge brouhaha when a woman’s sports team showed up at the White House to meet the President and a good number of them were dressed quite casually, including flip-flops. Some folks were up in arms about the “lack of respect.” I’m pretty sure the girls didn’t intentionally decide to diss the President the of United States by dressing down. It just didn’t occur to them that it might appear disrespectful.

But what does respect look like? Is it simply a matter of etiquette? Is it a set of actions or is it a frame of mind? To whom should we be paying respect?

I think we’ve missed the boat in our culture and as Christians, we should be picking up the slack. In the same way that we are to express love, we are to pay respect. We must show love and pay respect to the “sacred other.”

Instead of waiting for someone to “earn” respect, we should give it and something wonderful can happen. Can I do this? I really don’t know, but I want to think about it the rest of the day. Help me Lord to be mindful of you and your creation, to pay respect from the inside out.