Is Respect Earned? What does the Bible say?

Have you ever heard someone saying, “Respect is earned.” A lot of people agree with this kind of thinking. Because of this, some people would only respect someone if they are respectable. They will say, “I will only respect you if you will respect me.” Or, they will say, “I will only respect you when you start acting respectable.”

Is this kind of thinking biblical? Is it something that Christians should also believe and accept? What does the Bible really say about respect?

That’s what we are going to learn today.

What does the Bible say about giving respect?

There’s a prevailing and popular teaching in our society today that for people to respect you, you’ve got to earn it. For people to respect a person, a person should be respectable.

On the other hand, there are also people teaching us that we should respect everyone regardless of who they are and what they have done.

So, my question for you is this, “Is respect earned or given?” We are not going to answer that based on human opinion. We are going to answer that based on what the Word of God says.

So, what does the Bible say about respect? It says that we need to respect everyone, whether they deserve that respect or not!

In 1 Peter 2:17, we read this:

¹⁷ Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

In other translations, honor here is read as respect. Honor and respect are closely related. You can’t honor people without respecting them and part of respecting others is to honor them.

Now, look at what Peter wrote — he said, honor all people. Now, that’s something that goes against what our society taught us.

However, the Bible is clear that we must honor all people. It didn’t say, honor all people if they are honorable or respectable.

Now, why are we supposed to honor all people? Because every single person in this world is created by God.

We read in Genesis 1:26:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”

We respect others simply because of the fact that they are human beings and every human being deserves respect — from the president of a country to the garbage collector. Even the beggars in the street deserve our respect.

Can respect be earned?

While we all need to respect other people no matter who they are, the Bible also speaks about giving honor to those who deserve honor.

We read in 1 Corinthians 12:23-24:

And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it.

We read in Romans 13:7:

7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. 

This tells us that there are people who need special honor because of their accomplishments, hard work, and godly character.

This is also supported in 1 Chronicles 4:9:

 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”

It didn’t say that his brothers are not honorable, but in comparison to Jabez, his brothers were less honorable. Jabez earned a special position to be called more honorable.

The Bible also tells us that those who do the work of God deserve more honor. We read in 1 Timothy 5:17: ¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 

Of course, we must always bear in mind that our greatest honor and respect is reserved for our Father in heaven. He deserves not just our respect, but also obedience.

Final words

In summary, everyone deserves respect. Respecting others doesn’t depend on whether they are respectable or not, it doesn’t depend on whether they are young or old, male or female, rich or poor, famous or not. It doesn’t depend on whether they hold a high position or not, but rather respect is based on the mere fact that they are human beings, whom God created in His image and likeness.

Moreover, as children of the Most High, we ought to think, speak, and act respectable. Let’s not give other people a reason for them to disrespect us. To act respectable, let’s do our best to reflect God’s character in us.

And finally, the Bible shows us that there are certain levels of honor that we should bestow on others and the greatest honor and respect should be given to Yahweh.

Brethren, I hope and pray, that in the midst of a society where people are getting ruder, less courteous, and more disrespectful, we shine as lights by showing respect to all. 

---