Everybody has people in their life that are rude, crude and down-right disrespectful. The question isn’t whether or not you do have these people in your life, but instead how to deal with them, respond to them, and handle the sometimes stressful relationship as a whole. How do you honor disrespectful people?
This is a question I get asked all of the time. Whether via email, text or a conversation over coffee, people are yearning to understand the process in which they can honor someone who constantly shows them the opposite.
Who Are They?
1. Family?
2. Friends?
3. Acquaintances?
4. A spouse?
5. Your kids?
6. Your boss?
1 Peter 2:17 says, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” Although this seems easy as pie, how do we make this a reality in our own lives?
One thing honoring doesn’t mean is that you have no choice but to tolerate one’s abuse. Honoring does not mean that you never confront the obvious problems. Honoring does not mean allowing yourself to constantly get walked on.
How Do We Honor Disrespectful People?
1. Show them love even if they don’t deserve it. (1 John 4:19)
2. You can honor them without agreeing with them. (1 Cor 6:14)
3. Seek peace even if they aren’t looking for it. (Romans 12:18)
4. Set boundaries, love from a distance, and keep yourself from harm. (Psalm 104:9)
5. Seek God. (Hebrews 12:2)
Jesus Died For Everyone.
“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Honoring those who are disrespectful may not be easy, but it is something we are called to do in response to the sacrifice made on the cross. None of us are perfect, but that doesn’t mean we are to withhold honor from people are dishonorable.
Learning this principle is not something any of us will ever master, but it is something we can learn daily by refining ourselves through the cross of Christ.
