Honor

Today, at church, the pastor gave a sermon about honor.

Honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions; high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank; such respect manifested. This was how honor was defined.


I think about this definition and I wonder why this is so lost these days. I personally think that honesty is more simple, fairness more wholesome, and integrity to beliefs the most rewarding. So, why is it missing?


I think perhaps the problem lies in how people view the world today. How many people think of the world as an unfair, dishonest, anything-goes free-for-all? I would be willing to wager that at least in America, this thought pattern is common.


The question I pose is: if the world is unfair, dishonest, and a free-for-all, does that give us the right to be just as bad, or should we be striving to reach a higher standard? I think that we should make every effort to go above and beyond the way the world looks.


I try my hardest to be laudatory and edifying. In the most basic terms, I try to give compliments and be uplifting, and when it is time to point out changes that could be made, I try to do it only for the sake of helping the other person improve themselves. Everything I do, I attempt to do in kindness and love, for it's the one thing that's missing now more than ever.


Friday evening, I felt called to speak with a new friend. We had only spoken three times, but I wanted to talk to her. What I found was that she was in desperate need of a ride. I could have said I wouldn't do it. It would have been "fair" to me, but not "right". I would have been betraying my values, not holding onto my integrity. Furthermore, her house was on my way home! Why shouldn't I help her!?


Needless to say, I gave her a ride home (hopefully I was a blessing for her). She blessed me too, but I don't know if she realized how blessed I was by this 30 minute ride from college to her house. I hope that perhaps we will become good friends.


Everyone has sadness and pain (of one sort or another) in their lives. The question I see is "Knowing how bad sadness and pain hurts when caused by others, why aren't we doing more to keep from causing pain to those around us?" I know my goal is to not cause pain, avoiding that wherever I can. It might not be possible to avoid it entirely, but I can't use that as an excuse to just stop trying. That's how I see it.


Not everyone feels like I do, though. I can only hope that each person will find a way to be a joy and a blessing to others' lives.