Day 20
Thursday, March 25
The Way Through Disrespect
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me. Who doesn’t like a good throwback song from Aretha Franklin? Through research about the song, I discovered this was not originally Aretha’s song. However, she did indeed add her twist to it by including the spelling of “RESPECT” in the lyrics. Aretha became a hit in the 60s with this song when it hit the charts. When interviewers asked, “What was the purpose behind this song?” she exclaimed, "It was the need of a nation, the need of the average man and woman in the street, the businessman, the mother, the fireman, the teacher—everyone wanted respect.” This all took place during the civil rights movement: a monumental time in history.
Also, way further back in history, we see an example from the book of Nehemiah on how we are to be respectful. Nehemiah was working as the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes while the Israelites were in exile, and he knew that the wall around Jerusalem had been destroyed. He really wanted to go back to Jerusalem to check it out for himself and rebuild the wall, but he knew that he would need the King’s permission.
How would you have approached the King under these circumstances? With a lot of RESPECT... right?
Nehemiah did just that. Not because he was trying to gain the advantage or win the approval of the King, but because that is who Nehemiah was—he was a man of respect, which was reflected from the time he spent with God. Things for Nehemiah could have looked completely different if he didn’t respect the King, and there are many stories in the Bible about disrespect that show how situations ended poorly for them. We respect others because God cares for them. People are important because God sees them as important. That is why respect is so valuable.
-Kayla Suggs
Bible Reading for the Day:
Think and Act:
1.How well do we respect others? Their opinions, values, choices, etc.?
2.Think of a person whom you have had a hard time respecting in the past. How can you pray for that person this week?