Look at the respect Avraham Avinu is given, even from the lowest: נְבְיְחְת Bnei Chais (upon whom Rivka Imeinu said: קַצְתִּי בְחַיַי מִפְּנֵי בְּנוֹת חֵת – I am disgusted from them). And besides having phenomenal wealth, Avraham had a wife as beautiful as Sara, whom all the biggest kings didn’t have, and they kidnapped her. Avraham mentions that he has to worry about Sara’s beauty since the Egyptians are ugly. Why is Avraham Avinu so ahead of everybody in Ruchaniyus and Gashmiyus?
The Torah mentions almost nothing about the Chasadim that Avraham Avinu did to Sara during her lifetime, besides for now, when she is Niftar. Here we have a whole Parsha about: לִסְפֹּד לְשָׂרָה וְלִבְכֹּתָה being Maspid and crying for Sara, and mainly his efforts in giving her a Ba’kovod’ike (honorable) burial. There is no question that Avraham Avinu had unusual love and respect for Sara. But the Torah only elaborates about how he went all-out in: סְחֶד שֶׁל אֶמֶת – giving his last respects, i.e., a Chesed that is purest of the pure, where the person can’t even smile back at you and say “Thank you.”
This story shows the cardinal difference between Avraham Avinu and his generation. Avraham Avinu was a total “giver”, whereas they were generally “takers”; who viewed a woman as a source of their own pleasures. Dor HaMabul would have two wives; one for children and one for pleasure. They have respect for nobody but their own Retzonos. Avraham’s very name was a father (Av) and Rom (Romemus). A father is by definition a giver, and Romemus means respect and truth!
The kings would kill the husband and kidnap their wives. And when Avimelech says: הֲגוֹי גַם צַדִּיק תַּהֲרֹג – I’m a total Tzadik, Chazal explain that he was full of Negi’os and he fooled himself into thinking he was a Tzaddik. Avraham had a lifetime mission to be radically different than his contemporaries. Like Chazal explain he was called: הָעִבְרִי “The Ivri”, since the whole world was on one side (Ever) and he was on the other.
