Is Respect Unidirectional?
A discussion in our Bible study this week reflected briefly on the lack of respect many younger people demonstrate for those who are older. We talked about how, in the past, it didn’t matter who the “elder” was, because a respectful posture was accorded to him or her solely due to the difference in ages. As we went on, there was a general lament about this condition and examples of how it evidences itself. As the discussion went on, observations were made about how, today, younger people demand to be shown respect before they are willing to reciprocate, and whether this was a positive or negative development.
One of the participants, I think, is a hero among us. As a man who works with high school students, he helps individual students learn to respect themselves first, thus leading them to exhibit respect for others. Not a quick fix, but it is one that takes time and sets a positive model for the youngster. This is not an individual who applies discipline as if it were a balance sheet, but one who shows God’s love and models behaviors for the future. It’s hard to work through solutions and help the next generation, but, as Maya Angelou said, “Nothing will work unless you do." Time is a factor, love another, patience another and, yes, even grace.
The apostle Paul said, “Never speak harshly to an older man but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brother. Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.” 1 Timothy 5, 1. So – should respect be a one way attribute – from young to old? Is this a modern phenomenon? My guess is that since this issue is discussed by Paul, it has not just come to the surface, but has been a condition of the interaction of old and young for a long time. The Bible text suggests that respect IS reciprocal and needs to be modeled to be received. By Diane Bechtold
A discussion in our Bible study this week reflected briefly on the lack of respect many younger people demonstrate for those who are older. We talked about how, in the past, it didn’t matter who the “elder” was, because a respectful posture was accorded to him or her solely due to the difference in ages. As we went on, there was a general lament about this condition and examples of how it evidences itself. As the discussion went on, observations were made about how, today, younger people demand to be shown respect before they are willing to reciprocate, and whether this was a positive or negative development.
One of the participants, I think, is a hero among us. As a man who works with high school students, he helps individual students learn to respect themselves first, thus leading them to exhibit respect for others. Not a quick fix, but it is one that takes time and sets a positive model for the youngster. This is not an individual who applies discipline as if it were a balance sheet, but one who shows God’s love and models behaviors for the future. It’s hard to work through solutions and help the next generation, but, as Maya Angelou said, “Nothing will work unless you do." Time is a factor, love another, patience another and, yes, even grace.
The apostle Paul said, “Never speak harshly to an older man but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brother. Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.” 1 Timothy 5, 1. So – should respect be a one way attribute – from young to old? Is this a modern phenomenon? My guess is that since this issue is discussed by Paul, it has not just come to the surface, but has been a condition of the interaction of old and young for a long time. The Bible text suggests that respect IS reciprocal and needs to be modeled to be received. By Diane Bechtold
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