PUT SOME RESPECT ON MY NAME

Then Jesus told them “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family” Mark 6:4

The King James version and the American Standard Version says, “in his own house.”

This portion of scripture refers to a time when Jesus decided to sit in the synagogue and teach. His knowledge was disregarded because of his age and because of his familiarity with those he was speaking to. The people who were most familiar with him, could not separate the image they had of him as a child that simply played around the neighborhood with the other children. Many knew he was qualified to teach yet they chose to keep him boxed into an image that did not display his current level of maturity.

If we were to decipher this verse and post-modernize it for application, it implies that familiarity can breed contempt. In other words, the more comfortable we get with someone, the more we fail to recognize their importance. This resonates with many of us as we often feel taken for granted by those that are more intimately involved with us. The ambiguity of this anomaly is that many people have no issue or hesitation in displaying respect for those they are not acquainted with. When introduced at a meeting as “Dr. Johnson”, we will continue to address that person as Dr. Johnson from that point forward. And just by the way Dr. Johnson was presented to us, we will often take his word as gospel on certain subjects.

Unfortunately, we have a bad habit of reducing those we should amplify the most. This is not always done in response to a title, it can also be in response to a role. Many wives and husbands feel a lack of honor because they feel their kindness or knowledge is disregarded and often rejected unless it is confirmed by someone such as Dr. Johnson. Those who have obtained status or titles are too often not given the measure of respect from their peers and family that is due to them. It is almost a way of forced humbling to let the person know that we were familiar with them at a different point in their life. It can also be a way of affirming a previous relationship prior to your “greatness “ which is the case many times with celebrities as people will often come forward to announce that they attended high school with them or grew up on the same street. I’m sure President Barack Obama had many people remind him that he was the little kid who got in trouble for throwing rocks as a child. I’m sure someone said, “You will always be Lil Barack to me.” I’m not certain what it is that causes those closest to us to box us in and yield us the least respect, but it runs rampant amongst certain marginalized societies. Just because we called you “Junebug” all your life does not give me permission to call you anything other than Dr. Johnson when I visit you at the hospital where you work at. I would not refer to you as “Shay Shay” when you are a teacher and I’m addressing you in front of your classroom. You have earned the right and the expectation to be addressed by your title.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure no one is expecting their friends to address them by title when they are hanging out casually; that would just be pompous. However, you can guarantee with certainty that I will address my fraternity brothers, whom I have known for thirty years, by their title in their place of employment, when introducing them to others, and in any literature for public display. My closeness to you makes me want to offer you even more respect and by addressing you with your title, it becomes a celebration of you every time I say it. Our previous relationship serves as an inspiration that someone who “rubbed elbows” with me has navigated a major accomplishment, and if you can do it, so can I.

“When we fail to honor those that most closely resemble us for their accomplishments, we subconsciously promote an environment that persistently diminishes accomplishments by basing it upon the person who obtained it rather than the weight of the accomplishment itself.”

Dr. Darren L. DuBose Sr.

Sometimes, I think we are too accepting of diminishment. A reverend who is only of importance on Sundays will quickly correct you if you address them without their title. If you dare address certain people in an academic setting without the correct title, you will be quickly corrected. We do not call our physicians by their first names, yet we have stopped addressing our Uncles and Aunts by their attained titles.

Please give some thought to how you give honor where honor is due and also think about why you are comfortable not showing honor to certain people.

#changedmindschangelives

#bethesunshine