Overheard in Passing...

The manager and an employee were having the following discussion:

Employee: “I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt.”
Manager: “Why should you respect someone who does not respect you?!”
Employee: “ But she is my co-worker and I tried to give her as much latitude as I could.”
Manager: “But, why should you respect someone who does not respect you?!”
Employee: “I thought she was a good friend and hardworker when I recommended her.
But she dissed me by what she said. But I still care about her.”
Manager: “But, why should you respect someone who does not respect you?!”
Employee: “And I tried to listen to her concerns…”
Manager: “But, why should you respect someone who does not respect you?!”

This conversation went back and forth with the manager sounding like a broken record with his response until the employee just quit trying to defend her friend. I could not figure out all of the ways that the employee’s friend was showing her disrespect, but the manager asked a question that I could not get out of my mind. It just being repeated over and over.

Why should I respect someone who does not respect me?

This is a great question, and often gets at the heart of testing our resolve to care about others. What is the answer to this question?

Perhaps the Golden Rule comes into play here. I know that we often think people ought to earn respect. But on the other hand, perhaps we should treat people with respect whether they deserve it or not.

Why should I respect someone who does not respect me? Good question. Probably because somewhere along the line I am going to be disrespectful to someone else and I need their respect to get me back on track.

Respect. It is a Christian virtue that goes beyond what is expected.

In Christian love, Curtis