Scripture Prompt
Why We Should Treat Each Other Like Royalty
Love and reverence go hand in hand
Like many little girls, I dreamed of being a princess.
I would look down at my subjects with a gracious smile, twirl in my poufy taffeta skirts, and issue decrees all day long (I also wanted to make it law to have ice cream for dinner).
But what I loved most about the princesses that graced my TV screen and the pages of the books I read was how they were respected and admired, everywhere they went. Their goodness made them beloved among their people. That love was combined with a deep reverence for a princess’s leadership.
How We Lost Reverence in Our Relationships
When Julie Ranson shared this month’s scripture prompt, I was struck by how Paul used the word, “reverence” in his letter to the Ephesians. He says,
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21, NIV)
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word “reverence” means, “a feeling of great respect or admiration for someone or something.”
When someone is revered, we look up at them in awe, as if approaching the most precious being who walks this earth. Treating someone with reverence involves humbling ourselves to lift another person up.
Many of us have lost reverence for one another, including the people we love.
It’s easy to let a sharp retort or frustration get in the way of having a meaningful conversation with someone — whether it’d be your parents, a partner, a friend. We’d rather be right than reverent, most of the time.
We’d rather let cattiness or pettiness seep into our interactions with people. We prefer to put ourselves on a pedestal and pat ourselves on the back for doing good.
Paul challenges the Ephesians to “submit to one another” — and submission involves posturing your heart to be open to new ideas and doing away with pride.
If we can’t treat each other with reverence, it’s no wonder that we struggle to submit to God and His will. How can we expect love and trust Him completely if we can’t give His children the respect they deserve?
How to Love Reverently
We hear a lot about God’s love in church — about how good, pleasing, and perfect it is. You’ve probably heard these verses several times:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:4–5, NIV)
Patience, kindness, not being proud, not self-seeking — it sounds a lot like submission, doesn’t it? Love and reverence go hand in hand. You cannot love and submit to someone without treating them with respect.
In a relationship built on mutual trust and reverence for one another, each person knows their worth and makes sure the other person knows their worth too.
We’re all made in God’s image and we should treat each other like we’re royalty. That’s how God sees us.
No matter how much we “royally” screw up in life, we are His children. We are the most precious beings who walk this earth, which He also made.
The least we can do is treat each other with respect and love.
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