RESPECT – Find Out What It Means

Matthew 5:33-48
Related Sunday School Lesson, Bible Studies for Life, Oct. 28

Back in the ‘90s the Looney Tunes character Taz had a pretty strong run. Taz stuff was everywhere; kids and adults were into it. Once with no provocation, my mom bought me a green tank top with Taz on the front. He was holding a radio (boom boxes, remember those?) on one shoulder and a six pack of root beer (said so on the side) in the other hand with the words “Party Animal” slung across the top. It made for a great shirt when mowing the grass.

Something people seemed to like was his reckless nature as shown by that little mini-tornado form he always ran around in. In fact, he was evidently so strong he could buzz through the trunk of a maple tree and not slow down.

It actually would be pretty cool to spin at high speed through life with no worries about what’s in front of you, knowing that you could go straight through it with no problem. The reality, though, is that being out of control and irresponsible has an effect on others. Our choices and actions make an impact.

Honesty is the best policy - Matt. 5:33-37

Jesus taught a series of lessons underscoring the idea that to be righteous, one had to be better than the scribes and Pharisees. Think about that. Blue-collar guys and gals with no religious training were being told that when it came to righteousness, theirs had to trump the guys at the head of the class.

One way anyone can demonstrate respect for God and others is through his honesty. Many may enjoy lying, but all of us want to be trusted. When someone takes what you say to be the truth, it validates who you are as a person. It shows there is a solid foundation to your word.

This was tested a lot in the classroom and I had a simple way to deal with it. If I thought Josh was the one who threw the paper, I’d sit him down and say, “Josh, I’m going to ask you this one time. I’ll believe whatever you tell me. But if I find out you lied, it will take a looooooooooong time before I trust you again.”

Josh fidgets uncomfortably.

“Did you throw the paper?”

Up until this point, Josh has denied it vehemently, but now his sentence starts with “Yes I did, but ….”

This was done in front of the class. The rest of them knew the truth. If Josh had lied to me, their faces showed it. Once I did this with another student who had stolen a copy of a test off my desk. He looked me in the eye and said he didn’t do it. Ten minutes after class about five different students came by my desk to tell me otherwise.

We want our word to be good enough, with nothing added. Jesus said our “yes” shouldn’t have to be backed up with an “I swear!” It should stand on its own.

Beyond the call of duty - Matt. 5:38-42

Jesus calls His followers to go beyond the call of duty rather than hand out personal revenge.

This passage addresses more than just violence. The life of a Christian is more about giving to others than oneself. In some situations we may desire revenge, but we’re better served by self-sacrifice. Giving more of our rights, possessions, or service than expected shows respect for God and others.

Oct. 2 marked the one-year anniversary of Charles Roberts’ going into an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania and shooting 10 girls – daughters of his neighbors. Five of them died. One of the survivors remains at home in bed or a wheelchair.

The shock of the act itself was topped only by the immediate forgiveness the Amish community gave the gunman, who took his own life as police closed in. Parents of several of the murdered girls invited the killer’s family to their daughters’ funerals. More than half of the 75 attending Roberts’ funeral were Amish. Neighbors took flowers and meals to Roberts’ widow. They donated money to help his family. Last Christmas they visited to sing carols.

It would take a while for me to be as forgiving. Had my little girl been in the classroom, my first reaction would be for something very bad to happen to Charles Roberts. I’d want to be creative with it, too.

Verse 39 doesn’t mean Christians are to subject themselves to physical abuse. Suffering may come, but Jesus’ words are meant to address situations where personal revenge is the option we want to explore first.

Also, Christians are not to be content with the presence of evil. From their beginning, Christ-followers have existed and even thrived in the shadow of evil governments, forced into hiding because of their beliefs. Their darkest days have at times turned into the brightest examples of the faith.

Love your enemies - Matt. 5:43-48

The extraordinary call of following Christ would, of course, involve extraordinary behavior. When it comes to love and being nice, it’s easiest to be that way to the nice people. Being cut off in traffic often results in a hand gesture, and not the peace sign.

Loving our enemies is so hard because it requires us to change our own viewpoint of them. Hating someone strips them of their humanity. All we see are the deeds they have done. It’s like hearing that John Wayne Gacy had a puppy as a kid. We can’t imagine someone that evil (Quick recap: He murdered a bunch of guys and buried them under his porch. And, oh yeah, he was a clown at children’s parties.) having a shred of niceness.

That’s an extreme example, but even for the jerk down the street who wants to advertise his bad music for the entire neighborhood, it applies.

Show the forgiving love you experienced when your life was antithetical to Jesus’ teachings. Help those who haven’t experienced His grace get a glimpse of it in you, no matter how tough it may be.