Psalm 123:3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
    for we have endured no end of contempt.

This is an interesting, brief Psalm. It rather goes against the little rhyme most English-speakers learn as children: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Words can be very painful indeed! The Psalmist is suffering from contempt, and that’s not a minor issue. Every human being has a fundamental need to be respected, to be valued as a human being, an individual, and the lack of that can truly cut deep. Sometimes it’s a matter of perception, and some people are certainly thin-skinned, but it is without question something to cry out to God about. That’s because God values every one of us immensely, and the better we grasp that, the more insulated we are against the contempt of human beings. That doesn’t mean that any of us is the center of the universe or anything like that, but it does mean that God considers each one of us worthy of sending His Son to die for us. That means we are worthy of respect! A lack of respect can be fatal to relationships, specifically including marriage. I am grieved to see movies and TV shows that portray the husband and father as a buffoon, an object of ridicule, because I have seen homes torn apart by that very attitude. Men in particular have respect as one of their highest emotional needs, and a man who is not respected by his wife is quite likely to find another woman who will respect him, or at least make him feel like she does. It is very significant that in the famous passage on the marital relationship in Ephesians 5, the man is commanded to love his wife and the woman is commanded to respect her husband. Paul wasn’t married, but God revealed to him how these things work. To be frank, there are various activities that aren’t worthy of respect, but we need to strive to separate the person from the activity. As the saying goes, “Hate the sin but not the sinner.” I have even seen evangelists who didn’t seem to respect the people to whom they were proclaiming the Gospel! That is certainly counterproductive!

I think I have felt respected most of my life, though I did have some nasty nicknames at different points in my childhood that served to toughen my skin a bit. I have also been a bit on the other side of that sort of thing, with pride making me look down on others. That is certainly sin on my part! I need to remember that every person I encounter is someone for whom Christ died, and treat them accordingly in my words and actions. Only then will they be able to see God’s love through me and be drawn to Him for repentance and faith.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s not an issue I think about very often, so thank You for the article recently that mentioned it in the marriage context. Help me be an accurate representation of Your attitude toward everyone I meet, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!