RESPECT

Yesterday at church we continued in the series Ecclesiastes: What Are You Made Of?"

It was a great sermon and impacted me in various ways. But I wanted to expound upon one particular comment made by our pastor. He was talking about preparing for the presence of God. (not like heaven but preparing our lives for experiencing the fullness of God.) One of the points he made was about respect. How so many children today are disrespectful toward their parents and they in turn grow up to be disrespectful adults. And that cultural disrespect crosses over into the current presidential election. We say, "Obama is an idiot" or "McCain is an old geezer" which is disrespectful to these two men that are actually doing something and want to serve this country. Yes, I have been guilty of disrespecting the presidential candidates and I want to apologize.

Everyone deserves respect and God shows everyone the same respect and so should we. That includes our friends, family, neighbors, every race, religion, and sex... that includes our presidential candidates. You don't have to agree with them but you should show them respect.


Here is the scripture we studied:

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 (New International Version)

Stand in Awe of God

1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

2 Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.

3 As a dream comes when there are many cares,
so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.