Love, the Solution Disrespect, Part 2

When I initially wrote my blog Disrespect, it was entitled Respect. But the tone of the blog was that of disrespect. Love is part two of that particular blog because love is the solution.

There are many definitions of love. Or maybe love would be best described as multiple tiers, or levels. The ultimate tier would be our love for God. Or, more appropriately, God’s love for us. Then our love for Him. The next tier down would be the love between mom and dad and family members. Church family. Friends. Coworkers, etc. Until it trickles down to the lowest levels of love…I love 3 Musketeers bars, sunsets, puppy breath, fainting goats, and the color blue.

Where does respect come into play? I believe the two are pretty much interwoven. The Bible has much to say about love and respect. Much if it centers around the marriage relationship, but there is an overtone throughout the Bible of respecting God and each other.

We are created by God. He is not a respecter of persons. I am not greater than you nor are you greater than the homeless man on the street corner. Because God created us, we respect Him. We honor Him. We are grateful for Him and all that He blesses us with. We should be anyway. You may have never done a single thing for me. There’s no need for that. There isn’t a prerequisite for respect other than we were created by God, equally. That knowledge alone ties us together. God says to love our neighbor as what? As ourselves. We feed and clothe our person. We make sure we are well taken care of because we respect who we are. Or, we should anyway. We should treat our neighbor the way we want to be treated. How hard is that, really? Apparently, it is terribly hard as we watch teachers abusing students, children killing children, young adults beating up the elderly, the disabled, and veterans, and targets placed upon the backs of our law enforcement.

If you recall, I’ve remarked how the family is the foundation of society. I believe this. Love started with God. The love between a mother and father should flow through their children and on out into the world. Love is a connection. Our connection. And because we love, we respect.

It sounds so easy! And in realty, it is. If we just didn’t think of ourselves more highly than that of our neighbor. We are a most selfish generation. And it began with the disintegration of the family structure and the value of that structure upon society.

Love. There’s a saying that says, the most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. There is so much truth to that. That is where it starts. And it can be reversed as well. The best thing a mom can do for her children is to love and respect their father. Kids need to see that. Honor each other. Build that foundation up strong and firm.

Love. Have we diminished the meaning of love by throwing it out there haphazardly and not truly understanding the depth of it? Love is deep. It is meaningful and it is forever.

Love and respect walk hand in hand. There’s just no getting around it. To say you love yet you have no respect for another being, especially for a stranger, well…you lack much understanding. In our current world crisis, wow…it’s really hard to watch footage of the heinous acts that one human can do to another, and say I love and respect you. But it has to start somewhere. It starts with us. We each have a role in this. Love your wife. Love your husband. Let the world see the strength in that.

I’m not sure if this makes sense. I’m not even sure if this is the correct approach to the relationship of respect and love but it is my approach.

I want a better tomorrow for my kids and grandkids. We can do this one day at a time. ♥️

Andi

Photos: my photos of flowers in Jamaica, August 2016