Dignity
We don't use the word dignity enough these days.
Dignity: the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.
Every one of us deserves to be treated with dignity.
No matter what we look like
No matter where we came from
No matter how much money we have
No matter what we believe
No matter what we've done
No matter what
I know I want to be treated with honor and respect.
But more times than I care to admit, I make choices that I wouldn't necessarily put under the dignifying column.
And if I'm being really honest, I'm super quick to judge others and assume the worst, especially when they disagree with me or don't do what I think they should be doing.
I'm not alone, the world isn't acting very dignified these days.
So, for today, how about we start treating ourselves and others with some teetotaling, pinkies up, fancy pants dignity?
Let us act in a way worthy of honor and respect and be proud of our choices and how we show up for ourselves and the world around us.
Will our next choice make us proud and feel dignity, or will it bring shame and regret?
That feels like an excellent question to ask before we act.
Man, I could have saved a lot of time and misery if I had thought of that one 20 years ago.
After everything Jesus did to rescue and save us, shouldn't we try our best to live a life worthy of His love and sacrifice?
What would the world be like if we paused, assumed the good intentions of our fellow humans, and reached out to learn and understand instead of gossiping or slandering?
Imagine a world where we didn't have to try so hard to find people who acted with dignity, honor, and respect.
I bet it would be pretty awesome.
Since the only thing I can change is lil' ole me, I will try my best to treat myself and others in a way that will infuse kindness, honor, and respect into the universe.
I probably won't get it right most days, but a girl's gotta try, right?
Proverbs 3: 3-6
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.
Titus 2:7
And in all things show yourself to be an example of good works, with purity in doctrine [having the strictest regard for integrity and truth], dignified, 8sound and beyond reproach in instruction, so that the opponent [of the faith] will be shamed, having nothing bad to say about us.
Proverbs 31: 25-27
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.