Just Respect

"Judah Smith is a delightful, young Pentecostal pastor from Seattle, Washington. He is one of the best communicators that I have ever heard – especially to young people. When listening to others, his favourite expression is ‘Wow!’ For him it is an expression of respect, awe and reverence.

There are many blessings to living in Western Europe in the twenty-first century. However, we live in a society in which respect, reverence and awe do not seem to be as valued as they once were.

Each of the passages for today reflects on what these words mean and why they are important.

Proverbs 13:20-14:4

Respect

A culture of respect underlies the book of Proverbs. We see three examples in this passage:

Respect for the Lord

‘An honest life shows respect for God’ (14:2, MSG). As we have seen, the word ‘fear’ (NIV) is probably best understood as ‘respect’. Respect for the Lord is the starting point for respect in all our other relationships.

Respect for the wise

‘Whoever walks with the wise grows wise’ (13:20). ‘Wise speech evokes nothing but respect’ (14:3, MSG). Our society increasingly devalues the wisdom that comes with age. Wisdom often (though not always) comes through the experience of a long life. There is a huge amount of untapped wisdom in older people in our society.

Respect in the home

‘A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them’ (13:24, MSG). This teaching has sometimes been abused by an over literal interpretation. What the book of Proverbs is encouraging is a culture of respect in the family – respect for parents and also respect for children, which involves loving discipline.

As St Paul writes, ‘Do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord’ (Ephesians 6:4).

Lord, help us to gain wisdom as we spend time with those who are wise. Help us as a church community to model good parenting, combining love and discipline. Help us to live lives of uprightness in respect for the Lord."

1.  Thank You for a night of blessing, a night of activation, and a night of enabling prophetic praying.

2. Finally, I have tasted one of the better com tams in town. Thank you for taste buds!

3. Thank you for girl-bonding. Thank you for fun friends. :D