“We received from our ancestors, the old masters of karate, the Kata, which they have created with their blood and their hearts, putting their whole souls into them.” (End quote) – Mabuni Kenei
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Do you revere your sensei or teacher, as is often quoted by the older generation of Karate masters?
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Reverence as far as any Eastern culture goes, is partly due to hundreds of years of teachings that was so deeply ingrained into every facet of life.
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Today you find many people who hold the belief that; “respect must be earned, not given”. Such beliefs are relatively modern and flies in the face of a feudal society.
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Confucius teaching says to be a virtuous person, one must respect your parents, elders, teachers, etc. It also advocates reciprocation of respect on part of the receivers by fulfilling their responsibilities (be good parent, good teacher, good ruler etc).
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So for a martial arts teacher, respect is already somewhat a given in Eastern culture because they are teachers.
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In the West, the teacher student relationship is ‘mostly’ an economic arrangement. I’m sure a lot of people hold this belief, which is understandable from the perspective of someone doing it as a hobby, paying $xxx a month to train and practice.
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In Okinawa and Japan on the other hand, some teachers still claim an unbroken chain of heritage that’s hundreds of years old, so you can see how history could influence even their present student-teacher-relationship, because of this tradition and history.
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It is my belief that you can respect and honor your instructor without revering them. I have had the good fortune to learn from, work with, and meet people, who are unique in their knowledge. They get treated with the greatest of respect……. Are these teachers saints? No, but they are often unique in their knowledge and therefore should be treated with the respect, trust and courtesy they deserve.
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What’s important is that there is mutual respect on both sides, and a sincere desire to seek the best for each other.
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Revere? No. ….. Respect? Absolutely. 
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Quote from the “Empty Hand – The Essence of Budo Karate” by Mabuni Kenei.