Pledging a Sacred Honor

As I look at the world, I am struck by this fact. We simply don’t honor each other, we don’t honor institution and we certainly don’t honor God.

And I’m right there, so I’m trying to understand just what honor means.

Bernie is part of this amazing writer’s group that I blessed to part of. And she sent me a note about “honor,” a topic I wrote on yesterday. And I love her insight, found over at Healing of the Heart.

 She reminded me that the founders of our country pledged their “sacred honor” in establishing this land. The Declaration of Independence uses this phrase in closing:

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.”

This bold declaration ends on a single note of honor.

Since honor is really such a foreign word these days, what did this mean, especially when tied to the word, “Sacred.”?

At the time, the gentlemen of the day were bound by their honor — which they guarded, defended and upheld. It meant more than riches, than fame, than status. To them, it’s doing the right thing at all times, and upholding a reputation.

Have we really lost all of this?

And the word “sacred” isn’t a throw away term. Thomas Jefferson, the atheist’s favorite deist, purposefully chose this word to tie honor to the divine. When we stand up, take on Christ’s name, it should mean something. 

It means you honor your commitments  It means you honor your spouse, uplift your children, pray for leaders, bind up the saints, and minister to the widow and orphan. It means that every square inch of life has meaning and purpose. 

What a world this would be if honor were on display in marriages, in friendships, in the workplace, and in politics. 

What do you think it would take to revive the word honor again?