Wife Rule #50: It's a Matter of Respect

There's not enough respect in the world today.

There's not enough respect for our country. Or respect for the military. Or respect for the offices that our political leaders hold. Or respect for our freedom. Or respect for the sacrifices that purchased that freedom. Or respect for values that have held our country together for over two centuries.

There's not enough respect for those who have gone before us. Or respect for the elderly. Or respect for our parents. Or respect for our children. Or respect for the unborn.

There's not enough respect for marriage. Or respect for motherhood. Or respect for fatherhood. Or respect for family relationships in general.

There's not enough respect for our magnificent bodies. Or respect for the process by which our bodies are created.

There's not enough respect for this planet. Or respect for the creatures we share this planet with. Or respect for the magnitude of the universe that lies beyond our own little sphere. Or respect for all of God's creation in general.

In short, there's not enough respect for God anymore.

We are taught from all angles to criticize, to demean, to diminish, to poke fun at, to laugh at, to look for flaws and ignore what's right, and finally, to disregard too many sacred things. The world has largely lost respect for--which is inevitably followed by forgetting about--the tremendous blessings we have been given, and with that, largely lost respect for--and forgotten--the Giver of these blessings.

Not my wife.

I am blessed--greatly blessed--to be married to a woman who respects all of the sacred things I mentioned above. She knows that our lives on this planet, in this country, with our bodies, in our families, as children of our God, are precious gifts whose value excels all the lesser things that seem to command the world's respect.

My wife and I, like many of you, have become painfully aware of the general lack of respect for the Highest. One of the first times I realized this in clarity was about eight years ago, while watching a G-rated children's film where the main characters--young children--took God's sacred name in vain over a dozen times.

This behavior barely registers with movie critics as "minor profanity" nowadays. This behavior has become considered "cute" by the world and is canonized with an acronym so that it can more conveniently be "texted" back and forth in rapidity. Imagine, now we can break one of the great Ten Commandments and profane the name of our Creator with only as much thought as it takes to execute three character strokes! What a world we live in today.

There was a time in our world when the name of God was held so sacred--in such high respect--that language was altered to avoid using His name so frequently, rather than being altered to abuse it more conveniently.

My wife and I are determined to make our home a safe haven from the world of profanity that surrounds us. Our children will grow up in an environment where the name of our Father in Heaven is held in such high esteem that a feeling of reverence, of respect, enters the room when we talk about Him.

Some of you may have noticed that I never use my wife's name in these Wife Rules. Why would I protect the name of the one person on this earth that I love and adore above all others?

It's simply a matter of respect.