Respect vs. Reverence

[dwayner79]

HAHA!
What was that you were saying about culture and man-made rules?

If you only said respect, then in our culture, it does. If meeting the president, you dress up. In other cultures, it doesn't.

Reverence, IMO, is manifested in action and nothing else. True reverence is much harder to display, while respect is not. I am willing to say that respect is not what God "wants" from us, while reverence is.

I am curious if folks agree/disagree. We can keep the dressing up for church comments in that thread, but what is the difference (if any) between respect and reverence. How are both manifested? What should be the Christian's response to God; one, both, neither?

[Anon]

I think reverence is a deeper form of respect and thus is what we should feel towards God.

To me respect is like "Wow you are a great person, I really look up to you." I don't think you have to even like someone to respect them.

Reverence seems more like a deep, humbling attitude around a person almost akin to worship. I don't think you can revere anyone without liking/adoring them.

[zealyouthguy]

To me:

Respect is taking someone's opinions, beliefs and lifestyle into consideration and then deciding whether I will allow it to change my behavior.
I may respect your opinion on... oh, let's say pastors with beards, and take it into consideration, but I won't nec. model my convictions and beliefs based on yours.

Reverence is takings someones opinions, beliefs and lifestyle as a guidepost for me to follow.
I revere God and His opinions and they are my guideposts to follow in my life.


If that makes sense.

[HappyChristian]

I think respect is an attitude you manifest towards your fellow man, while reverence is the attitude you manifest towards God. When I say respect, I don't mean kowtowing to someone based on their $$ or standing, etc. I mean just a general treatment of everyone. Does that make sense?

[lettheredeemedsayso]

Here are just few


Respect
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Exd 2:25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto [them].
Lev 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: [but] in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Lev 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
Num 16:15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
Deu 1:17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; [but] ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment [is] God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring [it] unto me, and I will hear it.
Deu 16:19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
2Sa 14:14 For we must needs die, and [are] as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect [any] person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
1Ki 8:28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
2Ki 13:23 And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.
2Ch 6:19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
2Ch 19:7 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do [it]: for [there is] no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
Psa 74:20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
Psa 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
Psa 119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
Psa 119:117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
Psa 138:6 Though the LORD [be] high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
Pro 24:23 These [things] also [belong] to the wise. [it is] not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
Pro 28:21 To have respect of persons [is] not good: for for a piece of bread [that] man will transgress.
Isa 17:7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 17:8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect [that] which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
Isa 22:11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
2Cr 3:10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

Reverence
Hbr 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
Rom 14:11 For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Phl 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;

[Madeline]

In terms of what these words reflect as translations in the English Bible there is not much difference at all. They are synonyms in English, of course. But it comes to matters of Bible translation, one really has to take the translation on a case by case basis. In both instances of "reverence" and "respect," almost without exception when you see either of these English nouns they represent an attempt to convey what the Bible means by "fear". You can see this clearly from, for example, Hebrews 12:28, where we are told to worship God in an acceptable way with "reverence and godly fear" (KJV). In this case the word "reverence" is translating a word (eulabeia) which also generally reflects "godly fear" and is in fact sometimes used in the LXX, the Greek version of the Old Testament, to translate the Hebrew word for fear. But it also works in English to translate "fear" as "respect" when talking about other people and "reverence" when talking about God. For example, at Luke 18:2, Jesus describes the unjust judge as some who neither "feared God nor cared about men" (KJV), or "feared not God, neither regarded man". But the Greek verbs here phobeo and entrepo, can both be used with God or men as an object (and are) and can both be translated "fear" (or respect or reverence). What I suppose then that I would draw from this is that when we read "respect" or "reverence" in English translations, we should invest these terms with more meaning and intensity of feeling than we would normally do based upon their usage in contemporary American English - especially when the object is God.

Love,
Madeline

[5dumplings@home]

respect can be faked, reverance cannot.

[sarcrew]

:goodpost:

As I once told a less than sterling officer in the military, "I have to show proper respect for your rank sir, not you."

Wayne

[IM4given]

Respect is knowing how to dress appropriate to the occasion ie., wearing a suit and tie to a courtroom hearing, or a nice dress to church, etc...as a show of respect to those around you.

Reverence is dressing that way all the time because that is how you bring honor and glory to the name of Jesus Christ...

JMHO. :smile

[sarcrew]

Respect is knowing how to dress appropriate to the occasion ie., wearing a suit and tie to a courtroom hearing, or a nice dress to church, etc...as a show of respect to those around you.

Reverence is dressing that way all the time because that is how you bring honor and glory to the name of Jesus Christ...

JMHO. :smile

:puzzled: So how does a poor person "show respect"?

Wayne

[IM4given]

Water is free and soap is cheap, a poor person can clean up and dress the best that they are able. I used to wear clothes that were more patches than fabric, but they were always clean and mended, never raggety. I learned how to buy a dollars worth of fabric and sew my own skirts and blouses. Where there is a will there is a way.

I am speaking more for the person who has the money and the option to choose what clothes to wear.

[John81]

Water is free and soap is cheap, a poor person can clean up and dress the best that they are able. I used to wear clothes that were more patches than fabric, but they were always clean and mended, never raggety. I learned how to buy a dollars worth of fabric and sew my own skirts and blouses. Where there is a will there is a way.

I am speaking more for the person who has the money and the option to choose what clothes to wear.

The point is taking the time and care to present ourselves as best we can, whether that might mean wearing a thousand dollar suit or the best blue jeans we own. Either way, it's putting forth our best rather than not caring or deliberately appearing worse than we have to.

[sarcrew]

OFF topic: I only brought it up because of a personal experience. While in the military I was granted a leave and drove cross country on my motorcycle to visit my family. Enroute (it took three days) I found myself going thru a small town in Texas on Sunday morning. I stopped at a church and sat down about midway up near the wall. Before the service started I was approached by a deacon and asked to sit in the back row if I was going to stay. I didn't.

Wayne

[chev1958]

Dressing up has nothing to do with spirituality
chev1958 wrote:
Maybe not, but it does represent attitude. Dressing up shows respect and reverence. Waiting for the blowback ...

Mitch

HAHA!
What was that you were saying about culture and man-made rules? If you only said respect, then in our culture, it does. If meeting the president, you dress up. In other cultures, it doesn't. Reverence, IMO, is manifested in action and nothing else. True reverence is much harder to display, while respect is not. I am willing to say that respect is not what God "wants" from us, while reverence is.

Sorry, DW, for not replying sooner. And you know me -- there are cultural "things" and "spiritual" things, and I preach the difference. But look at your statements. You say you'd dress up to meet our President. Why, then, do you go to church? Do you expect to meet God there? Does God deserve less of our "dressing up" than the President? Again, there's nothing in Scripture that says you must dress up to attend church, nor would I ever preach it from the pulpit. But we are supposed to bring our first-fruits to God, right? Wouldn't dressing up include that?

Since you've included your definition of "reverence," I thought I'd add the official definitions of both words (from Webster's 1828):

Respect

1. To regard; to have regard to in design or purpose.
2. To have regard to, in relation or connection; to relate to.
3. To view or consider with some degree of reverence; to esteem as possessed of real worth.
4. To look towards.

Reverence

1. Fear mingled with respect and esteem; veneration. The fear acceptable to God, is a filial fear, an awful reverence of the divine nature, proceeding from a just esteem of his perfections, which produces in us an inclination to his service and an unwillingness to offend him. Reverence is nearly equivalent to veneration, but expresses something less of the same emotion. It differs from awe, which is an emotion compounded of fear, dread or terror, with admiration of something great, but not necessarily implying love or affection. We feel reverence for a parent, and for an upright magistrate, but we stand in awe of a tyrant. This distinction may not always be observed.

2. An act of respect or obeisance; a bow or courtesy. 2Sam. 9.
3. A title of the clergy.
4. A poetical title of a father.

It seems that respect and reverence go hand in hand. In our culture (or at least 20-30 years ago), that meant dressing up for church. When our culture started "business casual," that started creeping into the church as well. I find it interesting how many businesses are leaving the "business casual" dress codes because they're finding the work has become casual as well. Schools are instituting uniforms because studies show clothes have an affect on learning.

Again, and I can't stress this enough, dwayner, if you came in blue jeans, T-shirt, and sandals, you would be as welcome in our church as anyone. In fact, I'm the only one in our church who wears a coat and tie to services. Personally, I'm disappointed a little bit in our men because they don't wear ties, but I'll never say anything about it. And I believe the men love the Lord just as much as I do. In my opinion, I think dressing up to meet Him during worship is the least we could do.

Before the service started I was approached by a deacon and asked to sit in the back row if I was going to stay. I didn't.

That's a shame. Obviously that church is more about appearance than the Gospel.

Mitch

[JerryNumbers]

Isn't that something, some would dress up for our president, but will never do it for God and our Lord and Savior. They don't even have 2nd thoughts about wearing the very same clothes they work in to worship in. But some even dress better for work than for worshiping God.

Have you even noticed, the fellow who is being tried for murder, if at all possible his lawyer will have him appear in court in coat and tie.

Don't you suppose he is trying to show reverence for the judge and jury in hopes it will pay dividends.

And it does not cost an arm and a leg to dress up. A man can buy a very good blazer at a 2nd hand clothes store for about $10.00.

I've got 2 suits I wear that were bought at a 2nd hand clothes store, one cost $20.00, the other one $25.00 and they looked like brand new. They were probably $300.00 or more when they were bought new. Of course I know many would not ever wear 2nd hand clothes and surely would not ever let it be know they have 2nd hand clothes, but as for me, I'm thankful that I can ever afford that.

But for most its not about money, they think its all about the inside, but what is inside makes its way outside to show reverence to God.

I totally dislike the term Reverend Jerry, Brother Jerry is much better and I think is a much better description. I know years back around these parts the use they used this term, Elder Jerry. I have asked around trying to find why they dropped that but have been unable to find the reason.

I feel reverend and reverence should only be for God and our Savior. And respect for one another, and such people as you look up to.

And there is really only One that is awesome, and that is God.