Always in debt, but respected (7)
I believe the answer is:
revered
'respected' is the definition.
(revering is a kind of respecting)
'always in debt' is the wordplay.
'always' becomes 'ever' ('ever' can be a synonym of 'always').
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'debt' becomes 'red' ('in the red' means 'in debt').
'ever' put inside 'red' is 'REVERED'.
'but' is the link.
(Other definitions for revered that I've seen before include "Idolised" , "Venerated" , "worshipped" , "Highly respected" , "Held in awe" .)