Humble and respectful
By Josefina “Ndeshi” Gabriel /
These two words seem to have something in common. That if you humble yourself respect can also be there in you.
If you humble yourself you will be respectful to others. So that there cannot be respect for others if there is no humbleness in you.
Now how does humbleness and respect for others come about? In what conditions must we show respect with humbleness? Who to respect and why?
We need to respect everyone on earth. It doesn’t matter in what category he or she is. Respect is needed to be offered to all human beings. An elder, or youngster, children and babies. They all deserve to be respected according to their stage and standard.
We need to understand why should we have to respect someone’s opinion, life, work, family, standard and way of living but not to criticise them according to their weakness except to show willingness to help them and support them.
A baby needs to be respected in what he or she is asking for as it is his or her right. The old person needs to be respected too.
Some people don’t have respect for others so that they end up saying “She must keep quite; what does she know? She is still young, too old, not educated or doesn’t have money to do anything.”
Some people are young or old or poor or have physical disability or not educated. It is not easy to respect these people if you have no humbleness in your heart. You can only respect all people if you humble yourself and you understand the importance of the person.
A humble person knows that he or she is nothing without others. A humble person knows that as much as he or she knows many things there are some things which he or she doesn’t know but other people know those things, or they have those things which he doesn’t have.
A humble person understands that it is only God who keeps him or her in his position as others too are in their positions.
As a result we must be able to respect others without looking down on them, but it will only be so if we hold humbleness within us. Even God commands us to humble ourselves so that he can lift us up.
If you want to be a good person in the eyes of God, learn to humble yourself and respect others. We have to be humble and respectful, because we are all the same and equal before God’s face. And God will lift us up accordingly.
