I Peter 2:17

...Fear God, honor the king.

Regarding those who respond to this with "but he has to earn my respect" - I respectfully disagree.  True, we should never follow blindly, and allegiance to God certainly comes before allegiance to any earthly leader.  But God tells us to honor our earthly leaders - not just the leaders who deserve it. 

We would do well to remember that this was originally written to people whose king was persecuting them (and we think we have it bad).  Those who chose to follow Christ were being killed by the very man God said to honor.  That really doesn't sound like someone who earned their respect. 

So...continue to speak the truth and stand up for what is right.  But be obedient to God and honor those who are in authority.

And that's my soapbox for the day.