While the concept of "honor" predates the Christian era by many
centuries and was even alluded to by Solomon, the idea behind it is
relevant to our day and age because it has to do with conduct that will
not bring shame upon one's family ("Honor thy father and thy mother,"
Exodus 20:112, Proverbs 29:23)
However, the idea of having a personal code of honor
came later, and has to do with conducting ourselves in such a way that
we have nothing to be ashamed of. In other words, if we do what we know
to be wrong, we will have to live with it even if no one else ever
finds out. And, if we cheat or use foul means to get ahead, we will
never be able to take any real pride in our accomplishments.
Nevertheless, because so many in our society have
been given over to a reprobate mind, the idea of honor seems out of
fashion (Romans 1:28). False prophets encourage people to escape the
inner condemnation their conduct brings, by deceiving themselves. Good
is called "evil," and evil "good," while those who live a life of
debauchery tell themselves that they are "good" people. In short, many
are living in a fool's paradise, while their inability to feel shame
perpetuates a high rate of crime, illegitimacy, and drug abuse.
A true, "man of honor" will stand strong against
temptation, as Joseph did, saying, "How then can I do this great
wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13).
In the movie, "Gone With the Wind," Ashley Wilkes stood against
temptation in that way. Yet Scarlett had no idea of what he meant when
he said, "We have our honor." In fact, the concept of honor was alien
to her way of thinking. However, what he was telling her was that even
if they got away with doing evil, they would know about it and,
therefore, they would have to live a life of shame, for their own heart
would condemn them.
In contrast to honor, the ideal of Chivalry is
clearly Christian and western in its origin. It seems to have
originally developed as a way of reconciling an honorable defense of
one's life, family, or country with the commandment, "Thou shalt not
kill." To that end, a distinction was made between killing the
helpless, and killing in self-defense. While killing the helpless was
clearly an act of murder, killing in self defense was seen, not only as
preventing murder, but also as the just end of all would be murderers.
When applied to the military, this way of thinking saw the willingness
of a soldier to risk his life in defense of others, as an act of love
(John 15:13). Therefore, soldiers who risked their lives to protect
women and children, and by physical prowess overcame and defeated those
who would harm their countrymen, were seen as worthy of honor. At the
same time, there was no honor for the soldier who would kill from
ambush, or kill helpless prisoners. Such a man was assumed to be too
cowardly to engage his foe in a fair fight. The same held true for
those who mistreated women, noncombatants, or prisoners. As a result,
even though individuals often fell short of that ideal, warfare in the
middle ages was more civilized than warfare today, in that there was no
mass slaughter of noncombatants or organized gang raping of women.
While certain aspects of the legend of King Arthur
are theologically incorrect, and the moral standards of that age were
more lax than those of post-Reformation Europe, the story was never
intended to romanticize sin. Lancelot was a man of virtue, a man who
earnestly prayed for an opponent wounded in combat, a man who was at
first ashamed of his love for the queen, and a man whose sin, like the
sin of David, brought sorrow and tragedy.
During the Renaissance, the concept of chivalry
developed into the concept of the Christian gentleman. A man of great
inner strength who is gentle, virtuous, and kind on one hand, and
capable of meeting and overcoming any problem that may arise, on the
other. In addition, he is also a man who does not flaunt and abuse his
strength, or boast and brag to cover up his inner feelings of
inadequacy (Barney Fife).
The author of "Gone With the Wind" brought out
that idea when she had Rhett Butler ignore a challenge by a young man
eager to prove his "manhood." While Rhett would hardly qualify as a
true gentleman, the writer understood that a man, who is confident in
his manhood, does not need to act tough in order to "prove" that he is
a man. On the contrary, such a man is able to be tender and gentle,
kind and considerate. He does not need to hold a woman down and
mistreat her in order to affirm his own manliness, but instead affirms
his manhood by protecting and caring for the weaker sex. That is why
men have traditionally shouldered the harder and dirtier jobs, why they
have opened doors for women, and why they have allowed their wives to
remain at home instead of putting them to work.
At present, those who see women only as sex objects
ridicule this idea of manhood, and would replace it with the "Macho
Man." A man who works out with weights so he can impress others while
exploiting women, a man who evades the responsibility of parenthood,
and has no qualms about hitting a woman, a man who and sees anyone
weaker than himself, as someone he can exploit. That is not progress,
or enlightenment! Instead it is a change for the worse, and a rejection
of civilization on the part of those who cannot distinguish between
civilization and technology.
A man of honor will not cheat to win, because he
knows that there is no honor in cheating. Instead he will strive to win
honestly, because he knows that the only real accomplishment lies in
playing the game fairly and still winning. Furthermore, if he does not
win, he will not pout and accuse others of cheating, instead he will
show good sportsmanship. In England this concept was broadened into an
entire way of dealing with people, known as, "honesty and fair play."
During the nineteenth century, England ruled one
forth of the world's inhabitable land surface. Yet because of the
concept of honesty and fair play English administrators tried to be
fair and impartial. Of course, they were not perfect, and there are
always individuals who fell far short of the ideal. However, when
independence was granted, English administrators were often asked to
stay and help govern the newly independent country. In contrast, even
though Holland maintained a very efficient government in what is now
Indonesia, the subject people were continually made aware of their
subservient position. When talking to a Dutch official, they were not
even allowed to raise their eyes or look the official in the face. As a
result, when Indonesia gained independence every reminder of Dutch rule
was stripped away and all Dutch officials were required to leave.
The concepts of Chivalry and Honor, Gentlemanly
conduct, and Honesty and Fair play stand out in stark contrast to the
amoral self-seeking behavior of many in our society. Take, for
instance, the slanted and one-sided claims that dominate labor
relations. One side yells "unfair, unfair" no matter how hard the other
side tries to be fair. The same holds true of environmental groups.
Instead of trying to be honest about the situation, they try to create
alarm so that they can use manufactured crises to ram through the
legislation that they want. In fact, I can remember when they
were swearing up and down that the world would run out of fossil fuels
by 1990. What does that say about their honesty? False statistics were,
and still are, used to promote the political agenda of those who favor
abortion, homosexuality, or other left wing causes. Which only goes to
prove that our atheist dominated society has forgotten the civilized
concepts of chivalry and honor, and is reverting to barbarism.