Respect? Even If MY Candidate Didn't Win?

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. -Romans 13:1-2

When I was in grade school, my teachers taught us about respect.  We learned to respect our flag, respect our country, respect our parents, respect our government (even if we didn't agree with them), respect for our friends, respect for other people.  Why? Because that is what God requires of us!  How many times in Scripture are we told to love others?  How are we to love others? The same way we want to be loved.  

We don't have to agree in order to be respectful.  We don't have to agree in order to be courteous. We don't have to agree in order to be caring.  We don't have to agree!

Do you think Abba is EVER surprised by who gets elected or promoted or put into a position of authority?  Absolutely not. It is our responsibility to respect those whom God has placed in authority whether we like them or not, whether we agree with them or not, whether we like them or not.  And part of that respect is to pray for them!  While we're at it, pray for ourselves that we will be respectful.

Think about that!

 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

Romans 13:1 

 

Respect.  This is something we expect from others, require from others and even demand from others.  But do we show respect?

 

If you've watched the events of the last year, you will see great hordes of people marching, loudly demanding respect and to have their opinions heard above all others.  We have become a volatile society of knee-jerk responses to rumors or tidbits of information.  We are very quick to jump to that boat "Conclusion" and take it to the farthest extreme and demand respect, with no one listening.

 

The requirement remains, if you want respect then be respectful!  If you want to be heard also learn to be quiet and listen. 

Come Together

Remind the believers to yield to the authority of rulers and government leaders, to obey them, to be ready to do good, to speak no evil about anyone, to live in peace, and to be gentle and polite to all people.

Titus 3:1-2

I see a lot of commercials on television and hear them on the radio about companies who will for a "small fee" will check your DNA to see where your ancestors came from.  Honestly, I thought about this for a long time, then I saw how much the "small fee" turned out to be, and decided that WHERE I came from is not as important as where I AM.

We are where we are.  I'm not saying our personal ancestry is unimportant, but can you go back in time and change any part of it?  We are right HERE right NOW, so let's work on getting along and MOVE FORWARD so our ancestors can look back and see that we did the most amazing thing ever....realize that we are all human beings!

We should be ready to do GOOD to others.  Not for any reward from them, but simply because it's the right thing to do.  We should speak evil of no one.  This is a hard one to stick to, and I struggle with this sometimes, but am working on that.

Living in peace with others makes a great place for others to want to come live.  Especially when we are gentle and polite to ALL.

Ponder that for a bit.

What Kind of Farmer Are You?

Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 

Galatians 6:7-8

I have a confession to make, I do NOT enjoy gardening in the least.  If I were the only farmer left on earth, we'd starve....that's how much I do NOT enjoy gardening.  I know there are some who find it extremely relaxing to dig in the dirt, swat the gnats, mosquitoes, and whatever other annoying bugs decide to descend upon you, and I am glad for those....I applaud them.....I thank God for these people with every salad I eat!  

Here's a rule of thumb for those who like planting and all that goes with it: "If you want oranges, plant oranges; if you want weeds, do not plant anything."  While, on the surface, this is self explanatory, but if you look beyond the surface, you will see the true meaning: 

          *     Study = Good Grades

          *     Job = paycheck

          *     Teach children respect & boundaries = Respectful & Respectable Adults

          *     Teach children responsibility = responsible adults

You see, if we choose (and YES we do choose by our actions or inaction) to do nothing, should we be surprised when we have a generation who thinks everything is owed to them?

Honestly, I take umbrage with the Halo Orange advertisements that seem to encourage parents to fear their children, while it teaches the children that THEY, not their parents, are in charge.  We've seen it for years, children are smarter than parents.  Children know better than parents.  And parents are too busy, too tired, too career focused, or to apathetic to teach their children the way they should GO!

We get what we plant! And here's another consideration, it's never too late to clear your fields and replant your garden.  

  

The Lion Roars Tonight

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

I like to learn about animals, and the big cats have always held a fascination for me.  Take lions, for example, the male lion is referred to as "The King of the Jungle" but it is the female who does the hunting, cares for the young, and seems to have the final say in most matters.  The male lion will announce his presence with a tremendous roar but if the lioness is not in a good mood she will get in his face and roar back.  

But lions are usually pack hunters.  They will locate a herd of some tasty beast, and once everyone is in position, they will roar which startles the herd.  The startled herd will start running to escape which will reveal to the lions which are morsels are too young and slow, too old and slow, or too sick and slow.  You see, when the herd runs they are concerned only with their own safety.  There are exceptions, of course.  I saw an episode on Animal Planet where lions decided their meal was to be baby elephant, not counting on the rest of the herd standing their ground.  Let's just say, the lions didn't dine on elephant that night but had to go nurse some rather nasty bruises.

What's my point in all this babbling?  We, as humans, are prone to knee jerk responses.  We will not hesitate to throw someone under the bus to save our own hides (reputation, job, fill-in-the-blank).  We are quick to REact instead of being PROactive in planning.  True we cannot plan for every eventuality, but we can have a plan of action framework.

• Want to save your marriage? Remove the ticks and decide to love each other!
• Want to save your job? Do your best and remember that God is your true boss.
• Want a better work environment? Treat people like you want to be treated by them.
• Want a better society? Hold each person accountable for their actions and treat everyone like you want to be treated by them.
• Want respect? Be respectful AND respectable!
• Want a good reputation? Work hard, keep your word, make only the promises you will keep.

Combine all this with keeping the conversation with God ongoing and we have a PROactive plan.

In doing such things, when our enemy roars his presence, and he will, we will be like the elephants and God will cause the enemy to go home empty handed to deal with his wounds!

God Don't Play!

I'm going to start by ticking some of you off, but I ask that you grit your teeth (grind them if needed) and read all the way through before calling forth the Fork & Pitchfork Brigade.

I am not a respecter of titles.  Don't care what you are called, how many degrees you have, how much education you claim, how many letters of the alphabet you have after your name, who you know, who you claim to know, what kind of clothes you have, what kind of car you drive, how much money you have, what kind of watch you wear, where you live, what your personal politics are.....I don't care!  

I don't care what color your hair is this week.  I don't care what color your skin is.  I don't care if you are tall or short or portly or thin.  

Why?  Because all of these are EXTERNALS and are not who you truly are in God's eyes!  We can easily be impressed and influenced by externals.  And we can be fooled by externals as well!

Keep this in mind: "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

God see who we truly are and loves us anyway!  Want to be truly respected? Be respectful, Be true and Be Respectable!

Think about this too: Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that GOD SHOWS NO FAVORITISM. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right." Acts 10:34-35.  

So why do we focus so much on the irrelevant externals instead of being real, honest, true, and respectful to each other?

You see, you can fool me, but I don't count.  The one who does count is God and you can't fool Him because He doesn't show favoritism!  He loves me just as much as He loves you!