What happen to the days of glory? When an individual would die before they broke an oath… when a man said I swear it….you knew it to be true without a doubt in your heart… when you said yes…you meant yes….when you said no… you meant no… when people did what was right, rather than what was easy… Does HONOR even exist anymore?? Whether it be in people’s daily lives, relationships or even their work….i fear Honorable people are a dying breed. Honor, used in the sense of how one lives their life means "BEING TRUE TO WHAT IS RIGHT." Since many today have no concept of what is right or what is wrong, it should be of little surprise that people today have no honor. The truth of the matter is that In today's society those who would live honorably are often looked upon as being eccentric or fanatics. In fact…I find trying to be honorable usually confuses the mass majority… left asking question like “why would you?” or “how come?” and stating that doesn’t make sense…. Of course it dosent…they have no REAL concept of the Values that make you a man or women of HONOR.
What does it mean to be truly Honorable?
- Self-Discipline - Having the ability to discipline or train oneself.
- Responsibility - being accountable to ourselves and to others.
- Courage - standing our ground in the face of difficulties and impossible odds.
- Perseverance - keeping on keeping on when it would be much easier just to quit.
- Honesty - being genuine, real, in everything we do.
- Loyalty - being faithful to others.
- Duty - doing what's right whether or not it's popular and whether or not we win.
- Faith - reaching beyond ourselves and our own abilities.
Honor involves being true to our word. From the days of legend and knights and kings to the early days of the West a person was judged by how true they were to their word. Many Meaningful contracts worth unknown amounts were concluded simply on a handshake. If a man gave his word he was expected to keep it. Today…well….do I really even need to break it down? Or should I get my lawyer to? Mhmm… promises to day have been withered down to the well known and now demeaning "Pinky Promise." with no real knowledge behind the fact that it really meant you would cut off your pinky if you broke the promise... i refuse to make a pinky promise with people...not cause i cant keep it...cause i know they don't fully understand the concept of giving your word and the value i put on that gesture.
Would you keep a promise even if it ruins you?
To live honorably means to remain true to what is right in spite of pressure to do otherwise. Even if no one is watching! The life thus lived is of great value. To die with honor means that we must first live honorably. To live honorably, and to die honorably. The life so lived counts for something. It has purpose. It is valuable.
Live honorably. It will attract those who have a similar honor and you will stand out from among the ordinary... In the end, if someone says of me, "He was an honorable man." I will count it as the highest compliment.
