¹⁵ And he told them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight. (Luke 16:15 CSB)

So here is a verse that truly sets our world of worshiping at the feet of the powerful, influential or beautiful on its ear.

Many spend countless hours following powerful people, politicians, actors, athletes or other influential people and to what end? What of the words and deeds of the humble or the down-trodden? Are they any less important. To the world they are and this is revolting in God’s sight. We have no respect for those we see as below us.

I was brought up to treat everyone the same, to show respect and to never view myself as better. I have tried to bring my kids up the same way. The interesting thing about respecting everyone is that you do not have to worry about treating them right as that is just a byproduct.

However, respect has been lost in our world. We can see this everywhere and sadly it is getting worse. Additionally, there are fewer and fewer repercussions to this lack of respect. Thus, the more it is an accepted norm, the deeper this lack becomes.

And as our scripture says, we now justify ourselves in the sight of others. Our golden standard is no longer scriptural truth, but the acceptance of others. But God knows our hearts.

By showing a deep respect for others, we practice the love of God through our actions. Respect is a word we need to build back into our societal norms.