Respect

Respect, in the biblical vocabulary, is not chiefly a matter of polite manners but of right ordering. It is the practical recognition that some persons, places, and things stand in a station that calls for honor: God in his holiness, the sanctuary as his dwelling, rulers and elders in their office, men of God in their labor, the aged in the weight of their years, and the brotherhood in the bond of love. Where Scripture commands respect it usually pairs it with the fear of God, so that courtesy toward neighbor and reverence toward heaven are bound up in a single posture.

Reverence Toward God

Respect begins where the creature meets the Creator. Yahweh tells Moses at the bush, "Don't come any closer: take off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground" (Ex 3:5), and the same word is spoken to Joshua before Jericho: "Put off your sandal from off your foot; for the place on which you stand is holy" (Jos 5:15). The psalmist universalizes the command: "Let all the earth fear Yahweh: Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him" (Ps 33:8). Holiness draws a line, and respect honors it. "Holy and awesome is his name" (Ps 111:9). The prophet draws the practical conclusion: "But Yahweh is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silent before him" (Hab 2:20). Even in the heavenly council, God is "to be awed above all those who are round about him" (Ps 89:7). The angel of the Apocalypse therefore preaches an enduring summons: "Fear God, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come: and worship him" (Re 14:7).

Respect for the Sanctuary

The reverence owed to God extends to the place that bears his name. "You⁺ will keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh" (Le 19:30). The wisdom teacher counsels the same care in approach: "Keep your foot when you go to the house of God; for to draw near to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools" (Ec 5:1). When Jesus drives the merchants from the temple courts, he speaks as one defending his Father's honor: "Take these things from here; don't make my Father's house a house of merchandise" (Jn 2:16). Paul reproaches the Corinthians along the same line, asking, "don't you⁺ have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you⁺ despise the church of God, and put them to shame who do not have?" (1Co 11:22). Where the assembly is, irreverence is no small thing.

Honor for the Aged

The Mosaic command is direct: "You will rise up before the gray head, and honor the face of the old man, and you will fear your God: I am Yahweh" (Le 19:32). The duty to the elderly is grounded, characteristically, in the fear of Yahweh — to despise the gray head is to be careless of God. Ben Sira makes the same connection: "The crown of the aged is their long experience, And their glorying is the fear of the Lord" (Sir 25:6). The disastrous counterexample is Rehoboam, who "answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him" (1Ki 12:13), and so split his kingdom by his discourtesy.

Respect for Rulers

Office, like age, calls for the courtesies that fit it. The proverb cautions, "Don't put yourself forward in the presence of the king, And don't stand in the place of great men" (Pr 25:6) — a posture of self-effacement, not flattery. Jesus expands the same wisdom into a parable for guests at a feast: "But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he who has invited you comes, he may say to you, Friend, go up higher: then you will have glory in the presence of all who sit at meat with you" (Lu 14:10). Peter, writing to the dispersed church under a pagan emperor, holds civil and divine honor together in one line: "Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king" (1Pe 2:17). Ben Sira ranks the orders likewise: "A prince, a ruler, and a judge are honored; But none is greater than one who fears God" (Sir 10:24).

Honor for Men of God

The shepherds and teachers of the church are owed a particular respect for the work's sake. Paul tells the Philippians of Epaphroditus, "Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy; and hold such in honor" (Php 2:29), and writes to the Thessalonians, "we urge you⁺, brothers, to know those who labor among you⁺, and are over you⁺ in the Lord, and admonish you⁺; and to esteem them exceedingly highly in love for their work's sake" (1Th 5:12-13). To Timothy he adds, "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching" (1Ti 5:17). The writer to the Hebrews looks back as well as forward: "Remember those who had the rule over you⁺, men who spoke to you⁺ the word of God; and considering the issue of their life, imitate their faith" (Heb 13:7). The pattern is older. When Moses left the camp for the Tent, "all the people rose up, and stood, every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the Tent" (Ex 33:8) — a quiet picture of the honor owed to a man who walks with God.

Mutual Honor in the Brotherhood

Among Christians, respect is a duty owed to every member. "In love of the brothers be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another" (Ro 12:10). Paul presses the same lesson on the Philippians: "[doing] nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting one another better than himself" (Php 2:3). Peter draws the inner disposition together: "Finally, all of you⁺ [be] likeminded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, humbleminded" (1Pe 3:8). Such honor is not merely felt; it is spoken. "Let your⁺ speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you⁺ may know how you⁺ ought to answer each one" (Col 4:6).

Courtesy in the Ordinary

Scripture treats common manners as a moral matter. Ben Sira gives a small handbook for the table: "Do not stretch out your hand at that which he looks at, And do not reach your hand with his into the dish" (Sir 31:15); "Cease first for the sake of manners, And do not gobble lest you cause disgust" (Sir 31:17); "And when you sit among many, Do not stretch out your hand before your neighbor" (Sir 31:18). The reason is plain: "He who is seemly sitting at meat will receive honor, The testimony of his good behavior stands secure" (Sir 31:23), while "He who misbehaves sitting at meat will be talked of in the gate, And the testimony of his evil stands secure" (Sir 31:24). Hospitality has its own courtesies: "Prepare for their wants [first], and then recline, That you may rejoice on their account, And enjoy honor for organizing it" (Sir 32:2).

Discourtesy Rebuked

Scripture's negative cases sharpen the positive command. Nabal's name became a byword because "the man was harsh and evil in his doings" (1Sa 25:3). The proverb observes the same pattern in the well-fed: "The poor uses entreaties; But the rich answers roughly" (Pr 18:23). At Sychar the Samaritan woman is surprised by the courtesy of Jesus, since "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans" (Jn 4:9), and at table in Bethany Martha publicly accuses her sister and presumes to instruct her Lord: "Lord, don't you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Then tell her to help me" (Lu 10:40). Jesus himself rebukes Simon the Pharisee for the omitted small civilities of a host: "I entered into your house, you gave me no water for my feet: but she has wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair" (Lu 7:44). What looks merely like rudeness, Scripture treats as a disclosure of the heart.