He had always told him that a man owed it to his neighbors and to his country to serve when duty called, and he should never ask about reward.”
–Elmer Kelton (The Buckskin Line)
“That each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor [being available for God’s purpose and separated from things profane].”
–1 Thessalonians 4:4 (AMP)
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There was no “Echo” yesterday, I hope you noticed, as it was a day to celebrate the birthday of this great nation of ours. Despite the problems, and there are some, this has been the greatest nation on earth–end of argument.
In my last two decades of teaching I always prayed that the Lord would guide me to have three words for the students that I would emphasize during the year. No more than three, for I wanted to keep it simple, and give them something to remember throughout the year, and hopefully into the future. For example: dedication–honor–faith. One thing almost never changed, the second word–Honor. Honor is one of those words that has made America great. It was something the founding fathers understood as they attached it to their signature in the Declaration of Independence.
“We mutually pledge, to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
What then is “honor”? It is one of those words hard to define. Go to the dictionary and it would say, “something that is honorable.” It is easier to say what honor is or what it is not rather than to define it. Honor–one does not lie, cheat or steal. Honor–is a life of service and sacrifice. Honor–is courtesy, manners, and proper bearing. Honor–is a sense of humility as you understand that you are a part of a larger picture. Honor–is obedience, loyalty, and steadfastness. Honor–is being faithful.
When you see someone kneel during the National Anthem or when the flag passes by–that is not honor! That is someone with a chip on their shoulder; someone with arrogance and mockery in their heart. Someone who despises the sacrifice of others so that they can live in this great nation. Problems, and through the hardship and the years many have been solved. Are there still problems? The answer is yes, and if we continue to be a people of honor, through hardship, sacrifice, and time they will be worked on and solved, but not if we are people who are not men and women of honor.
I would like to close the Echo for this date with the words from General Douglas MacArthur.
“Duty–Honor–Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points; to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn… The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and, I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule…
“They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success, not to substitute words for actions, not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm but to have compassion on those who fail; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future yet never neglect the past; to be serious yet never to take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength. They give you a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease. They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life…”
As the world, and this country continues to move toward globalism and our basic foundational truths are being challenged, it is time for us to again regain honor. As our flag is being mocked so is the cross of Jesus Christ and the Word of God. It is time to regain honor and be steadfast in our resolve to stand, and after having done all to continue to stand–that is honor!