“The one important aspect of life that was the cause of the terrible happenings in Sodom and Gomorrah was a lack of respect. ‘Respect’ is important to man because without it, we find it easy to sin against God’s Ten Commandments. This small word affects our lives in many ways. Our respect for God first, then each other, has a stability, a strength, that acknowledges decency, dignity and integrity. Sound respect for our physical, our mental, our Spiritual, guides our path to sincerity, self-discipline, self-control. Respect instills and motivates honor. It cultivates a good relationship and it gives dependability to sound reasoning, sound action, sound communication.
Let us take a moment to reflect how our respect is connected to our obedience of the Ten Commandments.
First: I Am The Lord Thy God; Thou Shalt Not Have strange gods Before Me.
Our respect for Who God Is, What He Is, the Greatness He Is. Never to put anything before Him; never to diminish the Greatness He Is, He stands in, by our greed, gluttony, ego, pride, immoralities, and weak interpretation of how Ultimate He Is. Our respect must hold Him above all things, never failing Him in this way; never allowing ourselves to become envious, greedy, spiteful, or holding objects, things or people in a higher position than God. Our dependence must be totally on Him.
Respect for this Commandment covers many areas. We must never allow material things to take His Place in our lives. We must never allow paganistic values to seep in where they become more important to us. We cannot allow our respect of God to be watered down in any area where God is concerned.
Second: Thou Shalt Not Take The Name Of The Lord Thy God In Vain.
Respect for His Name, never allowing any man to diminish the Name by casting It into a lesser state of mind, thought, action or deed. Our respect must extend to admonishing others when they take His Name in vain.
Third: Remember Thou Keep Holy The Sabbath Day.
Respect for the dignity and necessity for a specific time devoted to honor God. Of course, this would include respect for a proper place, respect in proper dress, respect for the proper authority, respect for the teaching, respect for the direction given, respect for the time; respect for the purpose of this time for prayer, time of Honor, and of course, in this respect, thanksgiving for the privilege.
Fourth: Honor Thy Father And Thy Mother.
Respect for the dignity of authority; first, Heavenly Parents, and then earthly parents.
Fifth: Thou Shalt Not Kill.
Respect for the protection of others’ lives, minds, Souls, bodies.
Sixth: Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery.
Respect for others; physically, mentally, morally.
Seventh: Thou Shalt Not Steal.
Respect for what belongs to others; mentally, physically, spiritually.
Eighth: Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor.
Respect for others’ rights, dignity, reputations, cultures, colors, creeds.
Ninth: Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Wife.
Respect for the spouse of others; respect for the marriage state, what it is, what it stands for, the dignity it must be in.
Tenth: Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Goods.
Respect for the property of others; respect for their possessions and needs.”
