Respect

“He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.” (Ps 115:13-15 AV)

Some will look at the “success” of certain families and wonder how it is they are so blessed.  Not financially or with good health, but rather, spiritually.  What did they do right or what is it about them that caused ‘fate’ to shine one them and not others?  In one particular church, I overheard a parent, in a derogatory manner, remark of the children of another family how these children were the “golden children.”  But were they?  One of the truths to that end is found in the above verse.  Fear of the LORD goes a long way to experiencing the blessings of God.  Fear has a more complex meaning than that to which we attribute it.  Fear means a respect.  Not merely a feeling of concern over getting caught and suffering the consequences.  But a healthy and humble respect for all things sacred.

There is a lack of fear in our current church age which is disconcerting.  There is a lack of respect for the word of God.  It is criticized and edited to feed man’s laziness and greed.  The church building of God is treated like any other building.  It has long since past lost its sacredness.  There is a lack of respect for the institution of marriage.  We have gone from divorce, to co-inhabiting, to same-gender relationships.  There is a lack of respect for separation.  We have gone from Rosie the Riveter to a matriarchal society.  There is a lack of fear.  A lack of respect.

There used to be a day and age when even if there was disagreement and lack of assent, one still respected the things of the LORD.  It was uncanny.  When we served in an inner-city church many years ago, buildings all around us were tagged.  They were victims of crime.  But the church building was never touched.  Even the sneakers hanging from the phone lines ceased at the property line of the church.  Even among the gangs there was a healthy respect for the church building.  Today, those who profess Christ treat the house of God like any other building.  There is no sacred meaning anymore.  When we see a family that seems to have it all together, chances are they were led by parents who had a healthy respect for all things sacred.  They read their bibles, they came to church, they didn’t go certain places and they appeared in public professing their faith not just by words, but by their actions.  When we see a family that has ‘success’ (whatever that is), they probably raised their children to respect the things of God and treat them with honor.  Don’t run in the church house.  When you come to church, dress like it.  Read you Bibles every day.  Don’t go to places that insult the name of Christ or mock the principles of His word.  Respect!  We sure could use a healthy dose of it.