Honor

²hon·or

 verb \ˈä-nər\

transitive verb

1

a : to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect : to regard or treat with honorb : to give special recognition to : to confer honor on

On Veteran's day I had an opportunity to take the kids to a retirement center for a program honoring veterans.  My dad prayed and I sang patriotic songs.  While singing, I looked out and saw Trevor sitting on the lap of a woman in a wheelchair and Madi sitting on the curb next to them, taking it all in.  


This week we had the opportunity to honor veterans once again, one of whom my kids know and love, but don't understand yet that many years ago was a POW in the Korean War.  They know he was a soldier, and we were explaining to them in simple terms how he and other soldiers have defended our country and freedom, allowing us to live in a safe and wonderful place.  

We are trying to teach our kids about honor.  We want them first and foremost to honor God with their lives (I Corinthians 6:20); to honor us as their parents (Ephesians 6:2); to honor the authority their lives (Romans 13:1-3); to honor their peers (Romans 12:10); to honor their country, community, heroes, flag (Romans 13:7). 


In order to teach them this Jimmy and I must live honorably, and be intentional about giving them opportunities to understand and demonstrate honor.  We must honor others as a way of life, and talk about what the Bible says and why honor should be a mark of our character.  And we must treat their tender little hearts and lives with loving honor and respect.

"All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."

Winston Churchill