Every Relationship Begins with "R"

Show respect for everyone. Love your brothers and sisters. Fear God.
—1 Peter 2:17

Aretha caught our attention: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to me…"

So what does it mean? According to the dictionary, respect looks like this:

re⋅spect (noun): esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: "I have great respect for her judgment"

According to a recent survey on relational health, specifically marriage; surveyors found that: "…when asked what is most important in a successful relationship, about half picked "Respect" (49%), followed by "Trust" (37%), and a "Sense of Humor" (10%)."Sex" was picked by 2%. "Money" recorded 0%."

According to some wise people of our world, respect is the stuff that sustains, encourages, and invites deeper intimacy through understanding and conversation, truth finding and purpose in life.

• Jackie Robinson said: "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."
• U. Thant, past Secretary General of the United Nations said: "Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves."
• Laurence Sterne reminds us of the guiding power of respect in all of life: "Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners."

Respect is expressed through how you meet, how you communicate, how you care for others in your sphere: Do you greet and welcome or are they an interruption? Is it about you or about them? Do you listen with your eyes or simply nod while you wait for an opportunity to say your piece? Do you do for them what they don’t even know is possible or just enough to get a smile? Ultimately your level of respect reveals more about you that you might think.

Take work for example. Do you respect the work you do day in and day out? Do you understand the difference it makes for others, because respect is about our interaction with and care for others.

Mother Teresa has some words worth digesting: "There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in—that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible."

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. It can change your day, your unit, your department, your office, your home…your life.

May God bless you as you demonstrate what respect looks like, talks like, thinks like and acts like!