Honorable Mentions

"Whoever serves me must follow me, for where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." John 12:26

I thank God today for several of the time-tested institutions of America- marriage, the Armed Services, and even the Boy Scouts of America. All of these have two things in common that come to mind. One, they are all seemingly under attack, and two, they all have the word “honor” as part of their creed.

We, as Christians, have honor as part of our creed, also. In addition, we, like the Boy Scouts, the Armed Services, and marriage are under attack. I think of Christians around the world who live in places where Christianity is an extreme minority, and I am saddened at the persecution they face for claiming Christ as Savior. Sometimes adversity and difficult circumstances can arouse in us a sense of honor. When marriages come under attack, often the couple will unite to defend the honor of their marriage. Whenever the flag or the National Anthem is lifted up, our sense of honor as a nation is heightened. The same goes for the Boy Scouts and for any institution that holds up values, particularly Christian values. My dad told me many times, before he went to heaven, that one of the reasons society was suffering from such moral decay was because we had lost touch with our sense of honor.

The three major components of honor are...Respect, Virtue and Commitment. Obviously, we see the lack of these components all around us. Thus, honor is difficult to obtain. But, honor is somewhat unconditional. We honor our mother and father (as the Ten Commandments instruct) as a matter of principle, whether they have earned that honor or not. Isn't it interesting that the Ten Commandments are under attack, also?

Do you see a pattern? I do. I think our best tact is to go on the offensive instead of always being defensive about these things. Why not excel at honoring? Why not draw attention to the things that are honorable? Why not show respect for our elders or commitment to virtue? Perhaps by our honorable actions about honor, we might be a more effective witness and a better example of what we believe.

When we are under attack, sometimes we fight back blindly, lashing out at everything and everybody. When we do, we become counterproductive while trying to prove our point about honor. For example, if someone is attacking a principle that we ascribe to, and we react with rage and disrespect, what point have we made? When such issues come up around us, we should make sure that we don't defeat our own purpose by responding disrespectfully and without honor.

Defend honor honorably. Be committed to your commitments. Respect respectfully. Be virtually virtuous. Be righteous about being right. Remember whom you represent. Christians living in the world today can truly have an effect by being proponents of honor, in principle, in word, and in deeds.

In Him,
Pastor Fred

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