Respect is...

Nearly anything will earn you respect in the eyes of someone. But only certain things will earn you respect in the eyes of those who are respected. It’s that simple.

Respect: a relation to or concern with something specified; an act of giving particular attention; consideration.

That’s the official definition, but what does it mean to me, good question. What does it mean to me? Respect is something that should be earned not just given. There are a lot of people who do not respect others, and that is one of the things wrong with society today. The gang members who spray graffiti in their own neighborhood on other people’s property, they need to be punished because they show no respect for anyone or anything. Behavior like this probably begins at home.

Many families are single parents only so children are not taught respect in the home as in the past. They learn nothing about values, because there’s no one to teach them. They pick it up from the streets instead. They learn to disrespect themselves by subjecting their bodies to drugs and alcohol. They learn to disrespect others so they can be cool, and not only people but property as well. How do we correct this, don’t know. All we can do is show them respect and hope in some way they can respect us back.

Respect begins with self-respect and then extends to the respect of others. Self-respect occurs only when you listen to yourself and place your opinions and feelings are before others. The more you value yourself, the more you know that you are worth something. The more you listen to your feelings and opinions, the more you know that you are worth something. Self-respect is an important value because its absence reduces self-confidence. If you do not value your emotions or outlook, then who will?

So, true respect is not earned of injuring oneself or breaking the law. The respect earned by that is not true and lasting, because it must be reaffirmed. It is so important for some to be respected that they would to that and more. However, the way to earn respect is to be respectful. Make it an attitude, not a thing given to a person after they have proven themselves. This way, it cannot be demolished by anything but Respect is something that many people would do many things for. Some would die for it, some would endure endless pain and suffering if they thought others would respect them for it. This is seen in the many rituals of gangs and the like, which include cutting, burning, or otherwise injuring oneself, simply to earn respect from other gang members. To me, this is ridiculous. If someone cannot respect you for who you are, than they are not worth the time and effort of earning their respect. A lot of people try to find respect from others because they feel that it is in their religion to respect and be respected

In the case of other people, there is a mix of importance placed on respect. Some people, like myself, depend only on freely given respect that is acquired through normal acts within your general range of behavior, rather than going out of one’s way to impress or earn the respect of someone. Sometimes this is misunderstood as not caring what others think of you to the point where you might behave in a manner that is immoral, illegal, and/or distasteful.

To me, respect means that you listen to someone’s ideas, follow rules that have been established as well as know when to help someone, or ask them if they need help. To respect someone, is not to assume that they are invincible, because that is idol worship, but to be their friend if they need it, to be able to put petty disagreements in the past, to follow their wishes if you have prayed and know it is in their best interest, due to knowledge gained from God. That kind of respect is what is important to me. Respect given for injuring oneself or breaking a rule is fake, faulty, and will not stand the test of time. True respect, is like true love. It is unconditional. It is timeless. Just as true love can never be taken away, respect for a person is always there once established. Trust can be demolished, so can hate, and anger and envy and all other bad or good things in this world, except for love and respect. Love is God, and He will never be gone; Respect is of love, and once you truly respect someone or something, it cannot be taken away. That may be hard to grasp, because usually respect and trust go hand in hand, and I’ve already said that trust can be demolished. However Respect is different than trust. Respect is not just to a person, it can be just something in general. Once it is to supersede the person, and gives way to the total. Real Respect is a state in which you do not defile anyone or for a person, than yes, it can be destroyed of that person. Real Respect is an attitude. It is or anything for your sake. True Respect, real Respect is selfless, because you must give of yourself to respect. This, in turn t yourself if you choose to do so. That is the kind of respect that is important to me, without it, I will never truly feel right, or like myself, as I do now, because I know I have that kind of respect. I earn it by being as respectful as I can, and anyone who will not respect me for that is not someone whose respect I want, because I will only be respectful to earn respect, as that is all I should have to do.