Mutual Respect
TODAY’S MESSAGE OF
FROM
Discovering a BETTER LIFE MINISTRIES
(Stories of Real People, Real Events, Real Places)
Are dedicated to HELPING
PEOPLE FIND PEACE and HOPE
(John 10:10)
(April 16th, 2020)
Mutual Respect
Friend, the fundamental principle of all human relationships is mutual respect. If I respect you, your person and property – including the intangibles of your good name and personal rights – they are safe with me. If not, I am prone to take advantage of you or harm you in order to get what I want.
Unfortunately, both individuals and cultures have had a hard time with this simple principle. Oh, we’ve all had versions of it in our ethical teachings. Sages from Rabbi Hillel to Confucius, from Jesus to Kant have taught some form of what most people know as the Golden Rule. “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” It is easy enough to say and to salute, but it has proved to be a very difficult principle to put into practice.
It comes to my mind that perhaps Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. did more than anyone else in the twentieth century to bring the principle of mutual respect to the forefront of world consciousness. Sadly, it was the social pattern of racial segregation in the United States that called forth some bold actions from Martin Luther King Jr. Happily, the civil rights movement he brought together in America has had a huge impact around the world.
In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King cited his sense of disappointment in the white church of that city. He could as well have indicted all the people in practically all the white churches of that era. And it wasn’t confined to a single region of the United States.
Thankfully, South Africa, the United States and Australia have made significant progress in breaking down the walls of segregation in recent years, but not without frequent and significant setbacks. There is still a long way to go to implement the Golden Rule. In America, January 15 is a national holiday in Dr. King’s memory.
Perhaps, even here in Australia, as we reflect back on what he accomplished it might be an excellent time for each of us to do a bit of soul-searching about the remnants of racism and other forms of disrespect for our fellow human beings as well as reminding ourselves of the principle of mutual respect at a personal level.
Dr. King was a Baptist preacher and peppered his speeches with biblical texts and allusions. Here is one example: “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But the Good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
It is still a good and holy question to ponder about people who are different from you or whose behaviours confuse and frighten you. To try to find a way to reach across one of those barriers would be a good thing to do as we reflect together today on a Christian leader’s legacy.
Friend, if you would like to write to Discovering A BETTER LIFE, with a particular topic you would like us to encourage you with, we’d be pleased to hear from you.
Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 1540, Albany, Western Australia. 6331.
Phone us on: (08) 98 418 418 or Email us at: abl-alb@omninet.net.au
Ron Bainbridge
Co-ordinator of:
We invite you to visit our Website Blogs:
Media Outreach of Kendenup church of Christ
Comments