Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 (NIV)

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Respect means we see one another through our Father’s eyes; as eternal beings, chosen by God “for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him” as “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (John 3:16; 1 Peter 2:9 MSG; Romans 8:17 NIV).

Our objective-in-Jesus is to consistently remember we’ll be sharing heaven with those in our small groups and congregations, even those we have difficulty respecting now. And God, in his wisdom, “put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity” (1 Corinthians 12:24 NLT).

We often miss this, but one of the simplest ways to show respect is to simply listen. We offer our presence and open our ears, listening to the hidden hurts and heartaches, the deepest dreams and desires of one another.

The truth is, the God of the universe listens to our prayers, which does serious damage to any argument that we’re too busy. Busier than God?

Jesus listened to those around him and he listens to us, which destroys any argument that our mission is too important to listen. Or, is our mission, or even our daily tasks, more important than Jesus?

Our objective-in-Jesus is to respect others enough to let them get the whole story out before we rush in to give an answer, or jump in to fix things, or just plain react to what we think instead of what is true (1 Corinthians 1:10). If you flip the coin, you know all you need sometimes is for someone to hear what’s on your heart.

Respect means we trust others, instead of assuming they’ll do it wrong, or that they won’t do it as well (Philippians 2:3).

In the school of Jesus, we learn to “excel in showing respect for each other” (Romans 12:10b GWT).

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