Consider the story of two brothers: One was a child of faith and the first to face persecution and death for his service to God, the other was a child of disobedience and was the first to shed the blood of God’s children. This is the story of Cain and Abel recorded in Genesis 4:1-16. When Cain slew Abel, God said “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). They were worlds apart religiously, yet they were brothers. They were physically united by the same blood. Today, all humans are united by the same heritage Abel and Cain were united by. We may not be united by the same religious beliefs but we are united by our heritage. We are all descended from Adam and Eve. It is from this common heritage that our next concept of spiritual bushido has its roots—respect.
Webster’s Dictionary defines respect as: “To take notice of; to regard with special attention; to regard as worthy of special consideration; hence, to care for; to heed.” Respect is uncommon in our society, especially respect for those who differ from us in race, thought, religion, and politics. As Christians, however, we are called not only to respect others but to love. A love that is to be extended even towards our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). We are told to be at peace with all so long as it depends on us (Romans 12:18). We must remember that God doesn’t want any to perish, He wants all to come to Him (1 Timothy 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9). God loves and respects all, and so we must also love and respect all. Otherwise, we are going against Our Father’s wishes.
Now, it is important for our understanding that we distinguish respect from two other concepts that are often confused with it: tolerance and acceptance. Tolerance involves a willingness to coexist with contrary ideas but does not involve any form of admiration. It is something done grudgingly. Acceptance, on the other hand, is to agree that contrary ideas are suitable and right. As those who stand for the truth, we cannot accept error (cf. 1 Timothy 3:15). Respect is the ability to see the value in others, even though they may disagree with us and even be in error. So how do we respect our fellow man?
We are not to mistreat our fellow man.
Since we share a level of fellowship with all humans, we should not mistreat them. We should not wish them ill, curse them, or persecute them. We are commanded to put aside such actions and attitudes. Colossians 3:8-10 tells us these things are a part of the evil practices of our old lives that we are to have put away. Similarly, Ephesians 4:31-32 also tells us these things away from us. These are not practices Christians should live by. Consider a few of the reasons the Bible gives for not mistreating others.
First, in Deuteronomy 23:7 the Israelites are told: “You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not detest an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land.” The Edomites were not to be harmed because of their common relation—even though it had been over 400 years since they had a common lineage. In all reality, we are all related going back to Adam and Eve. The same principle holds true for us. Also, this verse tells them not to detest an Egyptian, because they knew what it was like to be a stranger in a strange land. Any Egyptian in their land would be in the same situation they used to be in. It wasn’t a time to take advantage or to get revenge, it was a time to help.
Second, Leviticus 19:14 commands us to consider others that have been less fortunate in their lives. Specifically, the blind and the deaf are mentioned, but we could extend that principle to those who are struggling financially, have had troubling family issues, or didn’t have the same chance for education or the same job opportunities. Leviticus 19:14 tells us not to make their lives harder or to take advantage of their situation—it would be cruel and calloused to do so.
Third, remember that Christ set the example for us. Romans 5:8 tells us Christ died for us when we were sinners. He valued us even when we were enemies and loved us enough to die on the cross. Likewise, as imitators of Christ, we must recognize the inherent value of every soul—every soul is precious to God—and we must extend respect and kindness towards all.
We often confuse hating sin with hating sinners. We are called to hate sin but are never told to hate sinners. Notice Revelation 2:6—this verse says they hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans not the Nicolaitans themselves. We must learn how to hate sin without hating sinners. Even though the Bible does not approve of their actions, the Bible does not give us the right to treat them harshly.
We see the value in others and respect them by not treating people cruelly and meanly. They may be worlds apart from us religiously, but they are still humans. We must hate sin, but not sinners.
We are to do good to all men
The Bible emphasizes the necessity of doing good to all people:
- “And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16).
- “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27). (Visit in this passage means to see and need and do what you can to take care of it).
- “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?” (James 2:15-16).
- “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good” (2 Thessalonians 3:13).
- “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:10).
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells a parable about separating the sheep (the good) from the goats (the bad). The basis for this separation is how they have respected and treated others. The parable emphasizes that Jesus takes this personally—our treatment of our fellow members of the human race is considered to be how we are treating Jesus.
Let’s go back and look at Galatians 6:10 a little closer. It says: “while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all.” We need to look for opportunities to do good. Leo Tolstoy wrote a thought-provoking short story called “The Three Questions” which you can read here. The three questions are:
- When is the right time?
- Who are the right people?
- What is the most important thing to do?
The answers given help us to see our opportunities to do good:
- There is only one important time—now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.
- The most necessary man is he with whom you are with, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else.
- The most important affair is to do him good.
If we practice these three principles, we will be taking advantage of every opportunity to do good.
We see the value in others and respect them when we do good to them. When we have the opportunity to do good, we must not let it slip by, we must take action.
We are to teach all men the gospel.
The ultimate good we can do any man is to teach him how to be saved. We have been given a commission to teach all men the Gospel. In Matthew 28:18-20, we are told to make disciples: by baptizing them, and by teaching them to obey all that has been commanded. Mark 16:15-16 commands us to take this message to all creation.
This is very important for at least three reasons. First, they are lost in their sins. Although we share a common heritage as brothers in Adam, we can not ignore their sin problem. Sin earns spiritual death (Rom. 6:23). If we do not teach them, they will remain spiritually dead. Second, they need to hear this message because now God is commanding all men everywhere to repent, Acts 17:30. Third, a day of judgment is coming, 2 Peter 3:3-10. God is patient because He wants all men to repent, but that day will come.
The ultimate good we can do to any man is to help them out spiritually. We have been commanded to do this by taking the gospel to every man regardless of their race, nationality, or sinful lifestyle. If we truly respect our fellow man, we will reach out to them with the Gospel.
Conclusion
Do you truly respect others? Have you been treating others cruelly and taking the hatred of sin out on them? Have you failed to help them and left them in spiritual darkness? Does your brother’s blood cry out while you think: Am I my brother’s keeper?
We are to be our brother’s keeper. We are not to treat our fellow man with cruelty, but rather to do them good and teach them God’s plan of salvation. If we do these things, we will be acting with the respect for our fellow man that God demands.
Fathers, we must teach our children to respect persons, ideas, and things of value while rejecting the notion of tolerating evil. Consider teaching some of the principles in this lesson to your family as a devotional (or a series of devotionals) and doing some of the following activities with your children to help teach them the concept of respect:
Different Colors, Same Taste
Get a bowl of M&M’s that are different colors but all the same kind (i.e., all peanut or all regular, etc.). Ask your children which of the colors they like the best. Then, ask them if that is the only color they want. Since they all taste the same and kids like candy most will want more than their favorite candy. Talk about it and ask them why they still like the others. All the M&M’s are really the same even though they look different. They all have the same value.
Note: Although this does apply to racial differences and we should certainly respect people of all races, we should be careful not to limit the application to racial issues alone. Many different issues divide us and we must learn to show respect for all. For children, you might talk about people of different ages, girls vs. boys, people who like different sports teams, etc.
Can’t Put it Back
Give each of your children a brand new tube of cheap toothpaste (like the kind you can get at a dollar store). Have them use the toothpaste to write the word “Rude” on a piece of paper (The whole word may be difficult to do, but they could just write the first letter). Then say, you don’t want to be rude, do you? Have them try to put the toothpaste back in the tube. They will only make a greater mess. It is important that we watch what we say and do because we can’t erase the past.
By Jeremy Sprouse
Jeremy has been married to Erynn since August 1999. They are blessed with six children: Jaden, Isaiah, Isaac, Ean, Joseph, and Evelyn. Jeremy preaches for the Patrick St. church of Christ in Dublin, TX and is the author of To Train Up a Knight.
Other lessons in this series:
- Spiritual Bushido
- The Way of Righteousness
- Heroic Courage
- Benevolence
- Respect
- Honesty
- Honor (coming soon)
- Duty/Loyalty (coming soon)
- Self-Control (coming soon)
Knights of The Father 