What Happened to Honor and Respect?
Karen Klein, a 68-year-old bus monitor in Rochester, NY has unintentionally made the news. A video went viral of her being bullied on a school bus by middle school boys. The boys were relentless in their verbal abuse. It horrified the nation and led to a large outpouring of support for Ms. Klein.
Reports of bullying have increased. What’s unusual with the Karen Klein story is that these bullies did not target a peer. Instead of a classmate, they attacked a grandmother that was on the bus to maintain safety for the very ones that abused her.
We are not accustomed to seeing adults bullied by a gang of kids.
However, children who don’t respect adults have become far too common. They don’t speak or act respectfully, and they choose when they’ll obey. In addition, they show no fear of authority and don’t seem to have fear of consequences from disobedience.
I’m sure the problem is probably more complex than I’ve considered. However, it seems that honor and respect for others is a key. Respect for others seems to be declining in our society, and bullying demonstrates a marked lack of honor and respect for the victim. They say it is often motivated by an attempt to elevate self at someone else’s expense.
Whether from bullies that try to hurt their peers, children that don’t honor authority, or adult’s that disrespect one another, the problem of disrespect is rampant and seems to be growing.
If you question whether adults demonstrate a lack of respect, watch a few minutes of a sitcom on TV, consider how often you witness a disregard for others in traffic, or listen to political ads and comments between politicians. I think you’ll see what I mean. At what point does such behavior become bullying?
Attitudes are often caught more than taught. What do our children learn through the culture? I wonder if we should be surprised that an increasing number of children are not sensitive to the feelings of those around them. When they don’t have righteous training in their home, how will they learn to respect others?
God tells us to “honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king (1 Peter 2:17). Those few words cover the bases—honor, love and fear—everybody, God, and king (authority).
However, the mention of God seems out of place in the list of earthly relationships—until you consider that we find the solution in God. If we fear God, honor and respect for others will come naturally. I believe the lack of respect that we see is in direct correlation to the decreasing fear of God among the population.
If we want the bullying to stop, we need to set a good example and to train our children to respect others. But, I don’t believe we’ll see a big change in culture until fear of God returns.
My son was not among those that bullied a grandmother, but I still feel responsible. I’m convicted on two different fronts.
First, I am not praying for my neighbors or the nation as diligently as I could. Neither am I boldly sharing the love and truth of God with individuals as much as I should.
Second, if Christ were shining through our lives as Christians, wouldn’t culture be impacted by righteousness more than it is? The only way I know to shine more brightly is if I decrease so that Christ may increase in me.
I want Christ to increase and I want His love to shine through me more, but I instinctively resist decreasing. I’m painfully aware of my need for the Lord’s help for me to even allow Him to help me. I die a slow painful death when dying to self. And bullying is all about self.
If others share my condition, it’s no wonder our culture is sliding down a slippery slope. Have mercy on us, O God.
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