There Is No Honor

Today's world is a tumultuous place. That's not new. It's just a different kind of tumult from ages past. Living in this current time has shown me many things. I'm still learning, but here is something I've learned in my time on this earth:

There is no honor.

The definition of honor is "high respect; great esteem". And this quality is seriously lacking in the current times. Children don't honor their parents. Parents don't honor each other. And it seems there is no honor towards God, our Creator, any more. I chose those three examples in particular because I truly believe this is where the failure begins - in the home, and in the heart.

I was raised to respect my elders, and I did my best to instill this in my own children. We don't talk rudely to them. We don't treat them badly or abuse them. We honor them. If you ever took the time to sit and talk with an older adult, particularly those over the age of 70, there's a wealth of information and history just waiting to be discovered. They can tell us so much about times past; how life was lived, what it took to survive or succeed, how people got along (or didn't), new discoveries and inventions.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to live through the Great Depression or a World War? Would your imagination even come close to the reality? How much family and personal history is hidden in their memories that you could learn from? If I had the sense to when I was growing up, I could have learned from my paternal great-grandmother what it was like to cross this country in a wagon. Or even what the reactions were to the first automobiles! The one thing I do remember about her was that she lived alone after she was widowed until she was 98 years old, and still baked her own bread. How much she could have told me about, and I wasn't smart enough to ask!

These days, our elderly are abused and neglected. When it becomes necessary (or inconvenient), we place them in nursing homes, and many never see or hear from their family again. We forget we will some day be that elderly person ourselves.

Even before we reach those "golden years", our children don't know what it is to respect their parents. From an early age, sometimes beginning in the preschool years, children begin to harden their hearts and refuse to listen or follow instructions. To a point, this is normal. But bad behavior should be corrected and not allowed to become bad habits. Our children should never be allowed to talk back. We should teach them how to have conversations and disagree without hateful and hurtful words from us or them. It's a two-way thing, not just a parent "bossing" a child. And there's a difference between beating a child and spanking a child.

Our children should also never be allowed to physically abuse us or their siblings. Or any other living creature, for that matter. Many times, this behavior is learned from watching a parent abuse another person. Is that really what you want your child to learn from you? I know I never did. But this is what we see all over. Teens recording videos of others beating up someone - adult and other teens. They should be helping to stop this, not laughing and encouraging it. But there is no regard for others. There is only the moment's anger or gratification. And this will perpetuate violent behavior from one generation to the next.

It is my firm belief that this lack of honor and respect comes from not having any honor for God, our Creator. I know many people who are atheist, non-theist, and "former Christians", and they all say their lack of faith in any God can be attributed to the lack of honor that so-called Christians show in their own lives. Do we really not see that our behavior and words are more responsible for turning people away from God than anything? If we lived what we said we believe, our influence would be more positive and productive to those around us. That positive influence would, in turn, make a HUGE difference in how people treated one another.

The bottom line is that it begins with us, not the other guy. As believers in Christ, we need to "walk the talk". We need to live as Christ wants us to. Love should be our biggest and most obvious attribute. We shouldn't be walking around and shouting how we hate this person or that one. We shouldn't be shouting at the world all the time, and complaining. After all, we are children of the King! We have so much to look forward to, and we should be doing everything we can to encourage, not DIScourage others! If we make a change within our own hearts, that change will spread to others. Maybe not to everyone, but even one soul makes a difference. And we should never, ever forget that.