Respect, something that plays a big role in our day to day lives. Respect is something that can either bring community together if you have it, and can tear community apart if it’s absent. Respect is a need in a good friendship, relationship, etc. Most can agree that the people they have the best relationship with, they have a lot of respect for them. This leads to a massive question we may have, should respect be something we have to earn, or is it something that we should all have for each other?

The most common argument you will see is from people who think it must be earned. They may say that if someone doesn’t give them respect why should we give them respect back. Another common argument the other side will give you is that we are all equal and we should have the respect to treat each other equally. Both arguments use logical thinking and are valid points on the topic. To find out what students at Sylvan Hills High School think, we asked a few students where they sit on whether respect should be earned or given.

The first student we asked is Sophomore Madeline Burnette. Burnette said “I think that respect is something that should be given, but can be taken away if needed. People can lose your respect by doing you wrong, but it should always at least be there at first. As humans everyone deserves the right to be respected until proven otherwise.”

Even though Burnette thinks it should be given, this actually goes along with the side of it being earned. While yes it is given at the start, Burnette believes that if someone does you wrong, that your respect for them can be taken away. Meaning in the end it is earned, and what is given is almost like a trial run to see if they can earn it.

We asked another student who was able to give us the given side of the topic. Sophomore Jordan Wise was happy to share his opinion, “1 Peter 2:17, ‘Show proper respect to everyone’, in this scripture it doesn’t say show respect to ones you know. Or show respect with people that are respectful to you. It says to everyone. If God walked around with the attitude, if these people don’t respect me I’m not going to respect them, he wouldn’t be the great God that he is. But because he showed respect to everyone he encountered, it opened up new conversations that wouldn’t be there if there wasn’t any shown.”

Wise continues, “Christians now are seen as bad people to talk to because we like to say I’m not listening to what you say, I know what I believe. But when we enter into anything showing respect things can open up and can be used to change someone’s life through Christ. So respect should be the first  thing you show no matter what. Because who are we to demand respect when really only one person deserves all the respect which is Jesus.”

After seeing perspectives from both sides of the topic, we want to give you the opportunity to give your own voice. Vote in the poll below.