Disrespecting respect
Several weeks ago I found myself in a discussion of respect in the context of marriage. Crucial to a healthy marriage, respect has to be given freely, without conditions, and earned constantly. That is definitely hard to do often because we want the other person to extend the same to us, first. Nevertheless, the power of the scripture in Ephesians 5 and the principle of unconditional respect will go a long way towards changing relationships.
In the course of the discussion we turned to kids and respect. Thinking out loud we covered how disrespectful kids seem today and gradually made it to "why." Some of the things that were brought up were how we accept it when children are young because it's "cute."
Also, some mentioned that their families of origin were different and I thought about a recent overseas trip where it seemed that culture could play a role. There is a deep sense of respect within certain families and some cultures that one doesn't generally find in our community here.
Lastly, other influences were brought up from TV to music as bad examples.
Do any readers have any other thoughts?