Respect it is earned when words and deeds match.

Over heard my mom having a conversation with a friend. They were talking about what our actions say about us. At one point in the communication I hear my mom say, “Your talk and you walk need to match.”  Her words made me think of a song. I love music. It has the ability to reach us on an emotional level. One of my favorite artist is Derek Minor. He has a song called Respect That, the chorus has these words in it. “If you hear the same things every time talk, and I take the same steps every time I walk. So if you hear the name Jesus come out of my mouth, then you already know what I’m about. You can’t do nothing but respect that…” I started to think about how our actions and our words need to be inline with one another. Okay, okay, I started to think about how my words and my actions need to be inline with one another (fine I admit it). One of my pet peeves is when thing are asymmetrical (no I am not OCD), to me things look better when they are uniform, when they match. Symmetry makes things less confusing and easier to navigate. People can see who we really are when our words and our actions match. We become easier to navigate. My friends don’t all believe what I believe, but I have never hidden it from them. That’s why if they curse in front of me it is usually followed by an apology. This makes me happy because it’s a sign to me that they respect my belief system (even if they don’t agree). They see that my talk and my actions match. Here’s a truth, people won’t always believe what you believe, but if your walk and your talk match up, they “Can’t do nothing but RESPECT that”.

“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Colossians 4:5-6).

So what’s my plan of attack? Living in a way that my walk and my talk match.