Teach Respect for Others

            Families, communities, and nations are strengthened when adults teach children to show respect for people who are different than themselves. This includes financial, political, racial, religious, sexual, age, or any other difference. Adults must teach by precept and by example that all people are equal and deserve to be shown respect.

            This respect can be taught by looking for the good in every person because there is good in the worst of us and bad in the best of us. None of us are any better than any other person. The way we treat each other shows our real character.

            The Lord Jesus Christ taught clearly how we should treat each other. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

            The commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves. This means that we must first love ourselves. It is much easier to love ourselves when we know that our standing is right in the eyes of God. This means that we must love the Lord and keep His commandments. Then we will have respect for ourselves and be able to love ourselves. Then we can reach out to love our neighbors and to heal our nation.

            Hate can never dispel hate any more than darkness can dispel darkness, but love can dispel hate and light can dispel darkness. Hate, darkness, and division are tools of Satan and those who work for him. His motto appears to be “divide and conquer” for his henchmen often use division to destroy. We can heal our families, communities, and nation by teaching the rising generation to love and respect all other people.