It is a fundamental biblical teaching that every human being is deserving of a modicum of respect. Here are some of the key reasons for this:

1. Each person is made in the image of God.
   • Genesis 1:27, So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
2. Each person is fearfully and wonderfully made.
   • Psalm 139:13-14, For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
3. God considers each person in the world to be worthy of saving.
   • John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Everyone is deserving of a baseline level of respect because every human being is fearfully and wonderfully created to bear the image of God. And even though that image has been tarnished by sin, God still sees every person who has ever lived as worthy of the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. That confers incredible dignity to each human life: male and female; young and old; black and white and brown; born and unborn; rich and poor.

And respecting people means that we are to respect their boundaries. Part of the principle of respect has to do with honoring the words “Yes” and “No.” Once again, this idea comes directly from Jesus himself.

Matthew 5:33-37

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.” But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply, “Yes” or “No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Jesus teaches His followers to avoid any sort of appeal beyond the integrity of their own words. You don’t need to swear an oath by heaven or earth or Jerusalem — just say what you mean and mean what you say. Your simple “Yes” or “No” should suffice if you’re a truth-teller. We’re supposed to have a healthy relationship with the words “Yes” and “No.”

When “yes” doesn’t mean “yes” and when “no” doesn’t mean “no,” Jesus says that this comes from the evil one.

James, the brother of Jesus, repeats this idea in his epistle:

James 5:12

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear — not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

We can extrapolate from this principle that we are to respect the boundaries of others by respecting their “yes” and their “no.”

But the principle of respect is frequently violated when it comes to boundaries. Here are two of the most common ways this principle is ignored:

1. The boundary problem of compliance
2. The boundary problem of control