R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

No, not the song from the '70's. What is "respect"? Today it means "admiration". Fine. It may even mean "deep admiration." Okay. But is that always the concept? Maybe not.

In Ephesians wives are told, "Let the wife see that she respects her husband." (Eph 5:31) "Okay," we think, "that means that she should have a great admiration for her husband." And, of course, at that juncture we run into a problem. You know the problem. Say it with me. "Respect is not given, it is earned." What do we mean by that? Well, you can't require someone to admire another; they have to be ... well ... admirable. And, yet, here we have God commanding women to respect their husbands. What's with that? In Peter's first epistle he tells us we should "in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15) There's that word again. We're supposed to make a defense with gentleness and admiration? How does that make sense? One might begin to think that the Bible keeps using that word, but not in the way that we do.

It turns out that in both of the instances I quoted above, the word used is not some sense of "respect" as in "admiration", but the Greek word, φόβος -- phobos. Ring any bells? Yeah, that's not "admiration"; that's "fear". Thayer's dictionary says, "fear, dread, terror." Strong's includes "exceedingly fearful". Nope, not "great admiration". It's in those two above and in 1 Peter 2:18 as to how a servant should view his master as well as Romans 13:7 as to how we should treat those in government. Translated "respect" in modern versions, the term is less "great admiration" and more "fear." It is, in fact, a term often applied to how we're supposed to view God. The very same term. Most modern translations translate those instances as "reverential awe", which works as long as you realize that "awe" includes a sense of dread. Biblically, then, we're supposed to "fear" God in the sense of reverence and awe touched with a sense of fear and we're supposed to have the same view of others. Wives are commanded to have this view of their husbands. We're supposed to have this view of those to whom we're defending the Gospel. Servants should see their masters this way, and citizens should have this sense toward those in government.

Assuming that the word translated "respect" in those cases actually meant that some sense of "fear" was supposed to be included rather than mere "admiration," you might begin to see how the command to "respect" people in these cases makes sense. We need to recognize that there are those in our lives that God puts there for a reason who should be feared to some degree. The most obvious case is God Himself, who has the capacity (and even propensity) to discipline His own (Heb 12:5-12). In many cases it is those in authority -- husbands, masters, government. In the case of defending the Gospel it could be people who might do you damage. We need to understand this biblical concept of "respect", not in the sense of "admire", but in the sense of a positive view along with a realization of the danger of going astray. Wives, servants, citizens, if you're a believer and not viewing those in authority in this way, it is a sin. We aren't commanded to admire them; we're commanded to respect and fear them. Christians, when you give people a reason for the hope within you, do so with gentleness and respect. Do it as those wishing to obey Christ.