Psalms 119:6 admonishes us to respect our Lord and all of His commandments. James 3:9-10 tells us that we cannot bless God and curse man. Out of the same mouth should not proceed blessings and cursings. A person can have no more respect for his God than he has for you. Then how can a person respect himself if he is not conscientiously respecting his God and fellow man? Paul reiterated that truth in Romans 12:10: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.”

1. Respect yourself. Respect for the personality, rights and differences of others grows out of self-respect and appreciation for your own individuality.
2. Emphatically listen and really hear what your family, friends, and associates are saying and feeling. Encourage others, especially your subordinates and children, to speak freely, openly, frequently, and with impunity.
3. Actively accept others, regardless of peculiarities, by giving adequate consideration to their ideas, suggestions, opinions, and feelings. Strive to be descriptive and non-judgmental. Confirm that you are hearing by giving positive feedback.
4. Demonstrate a belief in the dignity of all labor however menial. Treat all your members with honor, deference, esteem, appreciation, and equality. Show the same basic respect for the custodian who cleans your church restrooms as you would for a member of your advisory board. If both were absent for a week whom would you miss more?
5. Invest some time in the activities and interest of your closest relationships.
6. Refuse to manipulate anyone. Refuse to use people as objects and dispensable pawns.
7. Refuse to control or smother others close to you. Provide room for freedom, learning, growth, and interdependence even with your spouse. Although you are close to each other, even as one body, you each have your own lives and individual goals. You are always together in your hearts, but not necessarily in all activities. A healthy relationship is based on mutual development, discovery, and freedom within the spirit of Christ.
8. When criticism is necessary, address only the act or problem and never the personality.
9. Refuse to put others down. Refuse to put people in their place or give them their comeuppance. If negative reinforcement is necessary, make it a logical consequence of inappropriate action. Design all consequences to be rehabilitative and ameliorative rather than punitive and vindictive.
10. Give positive strokes whenever possible. Make others feel important. Recognize birthdays, anniversaries, and the smallest task well done. Stroking is simply a unit of recognition