Romans 13:7 English Standard Version (ESV) Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

The first word here is pay. Pay is one of those words we identify with debt. We instinctively understand debt, it is credit to obtain what we want or desire. This is confirmed with the next action word in Romans 13:7 owed.

The first thing owed here is taxes. We fought for our freedom in America to have no taxation without representation. Taxes are the cost for being free. In a personal sense we see taxes on what we earn and what we own to obtain services associated with the authority we give to those who govern us federally and locally.

When we do not appreciate our wages we are free to find another job and if we do not like the services we receive locally we are free to move.

Think of revenue as wages we pay others for work performed by others we have formed a contract with. We may own a business and fair wages will hold good workers in place.

Now we come to the last two issues, respect and honor. How do we owe anyone respect or honor? Since this article is about respect let us address respect one first.

1 Thessalonians 5:12 English Standard Version (ESV) We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

If respect is owed then in the same manner that taxes and revenue are examples, respect is due to those we have submitted authority to and to those who render service to us.

To go one step further, there is respect as the world knows it and there is respect in our spiritual realm. Both require us to submit to authority giving them the right to make decisions on our behalf according to contracted terms. Those terms define expectations for both parties and in the performance of those terms, we both earn respect and owe respect.

If we do not adhere to the requirements of our contract we must accept admonishment. In the world breaking the terms of the contract could be a loss of a job, a loss of liberty and being cast out by society. 

In the spiritual realm, if our authorities have not lived up to their terms and will not listen to just cause we are free to change churches just as we could move from one state to another. What that will cost us is a loss of service and a loss of friends we have made in that church community. If we haven’t lived up to our end, we don’t deserve respect.

Genesis 9:2 English Standard Version (ESV) The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.

God spoke this to Noah and I cannot help but think of the many men that came after Noah that thought of themselves as gods. Pharaoh is but one.

We hear that a man is the king of his castle without considering what kind of attitude we are fostering in our sons. I would have rather that my father had said to me “life owes you nothing”. A false attitude is birthed in a boy who is told he is a king. Kings do not earn anything, everything belongs to them. They just take what they want. That is a bad attitude.

There is no honor among thieves is as true a phrase as there is in life. Honor should be reserved for those who have done the right things for the right reason. We end up honoring people for their achievements while ignoring who they are in their hearts.

Hero worship should not be for those who can put a basketball through a hoop 80% of the time but rather to the man who goes to work every day and comes home to his wife and six children because work ethic is more important than meaningless skills and he has not given up because life is hard.

I will turn at this point to avoid becoming political,

What God said to Noah should not be taken as an excuse for an attitude that man deserves to be worshiped or idolized. Character should count more than skill. We should want to be like Jesus, not Michael Jordan. That is not to disparage MJ’s character, only character before skill.

It should not be a song lyric “teach your children well”, show right character to our children and teach them what is truly important. Worship God Almighty alone.

The world will be a better place for it Noah.