The Bible frequently cautions against respect of persons, yet it also instructs us to show proper respect for leaders, the elderly, and others. In Leviticus 19:32, it is written, You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD. Romans 13:7 further clarifies this by stating, Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Deference is commanded, not based on whether we think they deserve it, but because they fit a certain description, such as being elderly, or hold an elected, appointed, or ordained position. Insolence toward those who should be respected is a warning of impending calamity, indicating that rising disrespect heralds severe social troubles. Within the church, addressing each other as Mr. and Mrs. has been a long-standing custom, though such formality may sometimes be overdone. Formality can make relationships stilted and narrow, potentially leading to elitism, which is akin to respect of persons. The church is described as a brotherhood and a family, with Jesus declaring, You are all brethren. Insisting on formal titles might cause a loss of warmth, intimacy, and approachability, qualities essential to familial bonds. Respect for God and Jesus Christ does not diminish with intimate terms like Father or Abba, Father. Such titles imply greater closeness without reducing reverence, as respect can be shown through genuine warmth and affectionate desire to please. We call the great apostles and our Creator and Savior by their first names, like Jesus, without disrespect, because respect is earned through knowledge of character and action, rooted in love. If we love, we will be respectful regardless of a person's station in life, even extending respect to our enemies. In summary, much formal respect through titles in both the world and the church may seem forced or hollow. While we are obligated by God to give respect, we should not insist on formal titles among brothers and sisters, even for those in office. Instead, we should offer sincere, heartfelt respect to those in church offices for their work's sake, striving to earn godly respect through loving one another.

Respect of persons emerges as a specific manifestation of spiritual hardening, illustrated through the example of national political leadership and the tendency to judge morality inconsistently based on party allegiance. The example given involves a president in the 1990s whose scandals, promiscuity, lying, shady dealings, and narcissism caused widespread outrage, with some observers even speculating that such visible immorality at the highest level of leadership signaled the beginning of national judgment. Yet the more pressing question raised is whether that same outrage and moral clarity persists when comparable character flaws appear in a different political leader aligned with one's own party. This inconsistency reveals a deeper problem: if one has fallen into factionalism or party spirit, which is identified as a work of the flesh, then God's standards become negotiable whenever someone from one's own political camp is involved. This is explicitly named as respect of persons rather than a respect of God and His standards. This dynamic connects directly to the broader theme of spiritual sclerosis, or hardening of the heart, which develops gradually through what one regularly absorbs and normalizes rather than through a single dramatic failure. Just as physical arteries harden through repeated exposure to harmful substances rather than a single indulgence, spiritual hardening occurs when standards are quietly adjusted to accommodate what is comfortable or familiar. Applying character and morality unevenly based on political identification is presented as clear evidence that such adjustment has already taken place, since believers are called to heavenly citizenship and are meant to be apolitical, refusing to let factional loyalty override consistent moral evaluation. The honest conclusion drawn is that everyone has adjusted to some degree to the immorality surrounding them; the necessary self-examination is not whether such adjustment has occurred, but to what extent, in which areas, and what one is willing to do to reverse it. This point serves the larger warning throughout the material concerning drifting, neglect, and the danger of allowing lesser things, including political identity and party loyalty, to overshadow wholehearted devotion to God and His unchanging standards. Respect of persons functions as a diagnostic tool revealing whether one's ultimate allegiance lies with God's character and word or with human loyalties and comfort. The corrective offered is the same as for every form of spiritual hardening discussed: a return to prioritizing the relationship with God above every other consideration, allowing His word to expose inconsistency and to reshape the heart so that judgment is rendered according to God's standards rather than according to political or personal identification.