Spitting and respect are two great opposites in Britain today. Recently I asked an elderly retired football referee if he saw any spitting in his day. He replied, “I never saw it once but it was a ‘sending off’ offence.” Later a doctor told me that saliva is a mild antiseptic that is meant to stay in the mouth to keep the tongue, teeth and throat clean and moist. But saliva can still harbour infection so it’s serious to spit into someone’s face. If we had more respect for the Word of God we would have learnt about the danger of disease through spitting from scrolls dated about 1500BC [ Leviticus 15:8 ]. These instructions obviously came from the God who knew all about bacteria.

Sadly footballers who spit and swear have become the role models for youngsters who are therefore being taught disgusting and disrespectful behavior. To spit into a person’s face is the ultimate insult! Before crucifying Jesus they spit in His face. [ see Matthew 26:67 ], They showed no respect for God’s only Son even though He left heaven out of love for them in order to die on the cross for their sins. Today many still spit in His face by using His name as a swear word. How terrible will the day of judgment be for them unless they repent and trust Him to be their Saviour.

So how can we bring back respect to Britain today? History teaches us that the more we respected God and His laws the more we respected people and property. Figures show that we were happier 50 years ago than we are today. Shops were closed on Sundays and families offered up a prayer of thanks as they ate happily around a table together.