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Acting with honor. That was a primary motivation for the Star Trek character named Worf. He appeared in more episodes of the Star Trek television series than any other character. If you know Star Trek lore then you know Worf lived by a code of honor. He evaluated his actions based on this code. In one episode, he is uncomfortable being promoted due to the death of a comrade because he felt it was not honorable.

This reminds me of an honor system or trust system. An honor system trusts people to act with honor and integrity. For example, in some rural areas, people will place fresh produce by the road with a sign advertising a small price for a portion the produce. A box or jar is present where people place the money as they choose their fruit or vegetables. The owner of the stand is not present. They do not watch the box of money. They trust others to act honestly, and, often in these communities, they do. Because, like the fictional Worf, people in these communities have a strong internal motivation to act honorably.

If we are going to think about “whatever is honorable” then we must do two things. First, trust those who are honorable. That’s actually pretty easy to do. What is harder is the second thing: let’s make decisions and take actions that are highly honest and ethical. We must be honorable.

Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.

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Have you noticed that fiction is so full of noble heroes? Whether classic books, comic books or films, we are drawn to good-hearted, noble characters. We love the stories of their struggle to overcome obstacles or villains. Whether Frodo Baggins, Luke Skywalker, Spiderman or some other, we love the stories and know their names.

 It seems a bit harder to find noble heroes in real life, doesn’t it? I think they seem rare because we often look in the wrong places. When our attention is not consumed by family, job and entertainment, we tune into the news media and social media. You won’t find many noble heroes there. We look in the wrong places and we look for the wrong things, because the honorable people of life usually don’t face a super villain.

No, the honorable people in life are often unnoticed. They make decisions based on moral character, not on attracting attention. They donate blood, volunteer at food banks and lend their neighbor a hand. They enter 5K runs in order to raise money for a good cause. They wade through streams picking up trash so others can enjoy it. They visit elderly people to read to them and cheer their day. When faced with the choice to do right or wrong, they choose to do what’s right. These are just a few of the ways you will see honorable people.

Today, look around you for one of these noble heroes. When you find one, stop and thank them for what they do.

Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.

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“Your Honor” is a title used in many English-speaking countries for government officials. In the United States, a judge is addressed as “Your Honor.” This is just one of the ways of showing high respect. Picture for a moment a court room scene. Do you notice all the other indicators of respect? The bailiff calls out “All rise” when the judge enters or exits. The judge wears a plain black robe. No one else is dressed in a robe. The judge’s seat is higher than seat of the accused, the attorneys, the witnesses, the spectators and often the jury. The judge also controls the room, demanding silence and order. These are all ways of showing respect to the law and court.

The title “The Honorable” is also used for other government officials. Many are elected at local and national levels. The title is intended to show respect for the office the person holds. Unfortunately, many of the politicians that serve in office, do not always act with honor. The office deserves respect, but on a personal level they may not.

If you’re like me, an every-day, normal person, you have no title. No one is required to show you respect or honor. Our challenge is to live honorable lives, to be upright, dignified. To live with honesty and integrity. To deserve it when someone says “you are an honorable person.”

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Does your workplace provide recognition or awards for a job well done? Many do. In my former company, our group had an award for Operational Excellence. Managers in our team could nominate anyone in our group or the wider IT organization for the award. We then published the results to recognize the recipients’ excellence in doing their job duties. These awards varied for excellent customer service, providing extra effort to complete a critical project or teamwork to solve a problem. This recurring recognition helped everyone focus on high quality and reinforced excellent work habits. A focus on excellence produced more excellence in the team.

Where’s your focus? Are you thinking of the negative — whether the death toll from COVID-19, political division, riots, racism, or acts of terrorism? Whatever you focus on, will start a pattern of reinforcement. If you focus on the negative you will become more negative. One thing you should focus on is “whatever is honorable.” Can you find examples at work, in sports, in your reading or viewing of honorable actions? Examples of integrity, honesty and moral excellence? If not, maybe you need a new reinforcing pattern. Start searching for and recognizing honorable people. This will also help you become more honorable as well.

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Today, I wanted to bring you an example of someone who is honorable. I began searching the internet for news articles related to the words moral and honorable. My first set of hits were about politics in the United States, and all of them questioned the honor and morality of the politicians in the news stories. Why am I not surprised! Then I decided to search in other countries. So I changed the search terms for each of these countries:  Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Again, the results were more about moral compromise and dishonorable behavior.

Finally, I uncovered an opinion piece Dean Hutson posted on the site for a local US newspaper, The Chattanoogan. He recounted an incident from Tom Weathers’ life. Tom was the American-style football coach at a local high school. That year Tom had an undefeated record. A few days after defeating a rival school, Tom reviewed the game film. Tom noticed that during the game, when the outcome was determined and a lot of substitute players were sent in from the sidelines, an assistant coach sent an ineligible player into the game. But no one knew but Tom. So what did he do? He called the state athletic association and reported the infraction of the rules. This caused his victory to become a forfeited game. The result was his team was no longer undefeated and was eliminated from the state football championship playoffs. Tom’s action — doing what’s right — is an example of being honorable.

Rob Hensley, “Tom Weathers Was A True Gentleman Of High Moral Character – And Response (2),” The Chattanoogan, December 12, 2020, https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/12/12/419882/Tom-Weathers-Was-A-True-Gentleman-Of.aspx

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This week, we focus on  the phrase “whatever is honorable” from Philippians 4:8.

Honorable. I wonder, is the concept of honor old-fashioned? When I think of this word two things come to mind: first, addressing a judge as “Your honor” and second, a soldier with an honorable discharge from service. Both uses illustrate the meaning of the word.

Honorable is the quality someone has that causes others to show honor to him or her. In short, it means “worthy of high respect.” When a soldier is honorably discharged, the government declares that he or she is worthy of great respect. He or she deserves to be recognized and receive honor for his or her service. On the other hand a dishonorable discharge is a declaration that a soldier’s conduct in the service was bad. The ex-soldier does not deserve any respect, courtesy or distinction. 

Philippians 4:8 encourages us to think about a set of positive things, including “whatever is honorable.” Here’s my challenge for your today — post nothing on social media unless it is upright, courteous, honest and worthy of respect. Don’t dream of posting something that becomes viral, focus on posting something honorable. Find something honorable and share it with others.

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.