https://youtu.be/KbNQfeILSN8
25 November 2015
02 November 2015
Titles
So I had an interesting experience this morning, I thought I’d
share it and some thoughts from it. This morning I got a phone call from a lady
in my church. She was apologizing for
something that I didn’t really mind at all. Yesterday morning a in the hallway
she looked at me with a big smile and said “Hey Big D!” I smiled and said hi
and went on. After that point something bothered her… she felt she had offended
me.
What bothered her? She didn’t call me Pastor. I assured her
that it was no big deal and that I appreciated her heart in the matter. I hate
that something so silly had bothered her so much but I understood it.
For me it really wasn’t a big deal. I’ve never really thought
much about titles. Truth be told, it is still strange for me to hear people
refer to me as Pastor Dallas. This is in part due to my training with my
mentor. The idea of titles was just never a big thing. If you had a
relationship with someone and they allowed you into their lives that’s all that
mattered. If there’s a job that needs to
be done and you were able to do it, then you took care of it, no matter what
your title was or is. That’s how I was taught.
That said I do understand that titles are important. They
have a place and reason in our society. I know for starters they signify
authority. If I walk up to three guys looking for help with a broken leg and
one says “Hi, I’m Professor John,” another says “Hi, I’m Officer Jack,” and the
third says, “Hi, I’m Dr. Jeremy,” I’m going to end up asking the doctor for
help. Why? I’m going to talk to him
because his title tells me he is an authority in medical matters.
There have been many times where I’ve walked into a situation and
I’ve had to be “Pastor Dallas.” People needed me to be more than just the laid
back geeky guy that I am. They needed to be a minister of the Gospel. They
needed me to be someone to bring the presence of God and show them the heart of
the Father.
Let’s not forget that we should respect people’s authority. No
matter what the position or our opinions about that position. You may not like
a pastor, teacher, doctor, mayor, or president; but the fact of the matter is
the title they have carries authority. So our honoring of their title is
honoring of the authority they carry. Yes even if carry it poorly.
I had talked about this on my Periscope earlier today. One
person brought up an interesting point. While I personally don’t care about
titles; there are those who purposefully don’t use a person’s title out of blatant
disrespect. In other words, if they don’t
like that person for whatever reason, instead of referring to that person as
Doctor, Pastor, Professor, President; they simply call them by their name or
sometimes… some kind of inappropriate, and colorful, name. Don’t’ get me wrong, I understand it’s hard
to be honoring to people we don’t care for, but how can we create a culture of
honor if we don’t do it ourselves?
Another interesting thought is that some people get way too
wrapped up in their title. They almost let it go to their head and hold it over
others. They are so wrapped up in their title that they lose their actual identity.
We are all fellow members of the human race; as such we should respect each
other. Yes your title brings authority, but it doesn’t mean you should look
down on people. Your title is a gift and if you don’t respect that title then how
can you expect others?
I guess in the end our use of titles and our respect of them
boils down to the heart behind the situation. If your use or no use of a title
is done out of a good heart, then fantastic! Honor comes from that heart. At
the same time dishonor comes from a broken heart. If we do not honor the titles
people carry then we do harm that person, their title, and our society.
So what are your thoughts about titles? Do you carry title?
Does it bother you when people don’t refer to you by that title? Do you have a
hard time using people’s titles? Comment and let me know!
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