God has created all humans to be respected. The love of God is to be shared by us to people of all backgrounds, all nations, and all persuasions.

 

Identify a time when you were trying to do something good or performing and you felt disrespected or not appreciated? What were some of your feelings? How did you respond?

Putting ourselves “out there” can be risky. Our intentions are pure and we are giving our best. Yet, the “audience” or receivers are apathetic, or even disrespectful.   

 

Tones and I (aka Toni Watson) began her music career by busking on the streets of cities in Australia. (“Busking” is playing music in the street or another public place for voluntary donations.) The words of this song are reflective of a time she had been playing for about six hours only to have a drunken person take her money. In addition, people were making rude comments and treating her as somebody they could manipulate. 

 

This song is her “journal entry” about the experience. (You can watch her “behind the scenes” video about this song here.) In the music video of “Dance Monkey” (you can watch it here) she chose to be playful and silly rather than serious. Her inspiration to have older men having fun on a golf course was purely for happiness rather than get “revenge” on her critics. 

 

Tones and I said that the word “dance” could easily be replaced by the word “sing” to show her feelings about that difficult experience. These words reflect the sarcastic comments she was receiving, They say, oh my god I see the way you shine. Take your hand, my dear, and place them both in mine. You know you stopped me dead when I was passing by, and now I beg to see you dance just one more time.

 

God has created all humans to be respected. The love of God is to be shared by us to people of all backgrounds, all nations, and all persuasions. 

 

Through God’s Word we are reminded that there is one constant in life: God’s love for us and His call to bring dignity to all people. Psalm 139:13-16 says, For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

 

Much of our politicized and media-saturated culture values treating people as less than human. Name-calling, sarcasm, and a general lack of civility have become normative. Jesus lived among us to show His followers a different way. 

 

What type of person do you find easy to ignore? What is one step you could take to better give respect and dignity to others?