Teaching Honor
We laugh at honour
and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.
So wrote C.S. Lewis in The Abolition of Man.
One day last week I drove into the business district of a small town at about 10 in the morning. In the front yard of a small house a few doors from the police station and near two banks, I saw a woman taking out her little dog on a leash. She was wearing her pajamas. No robe. No jacket. Just her pajamas.
Sadly, I wasn’t shocked — but I was saddened. I am still not used to seeing PJs in hotel breakfast bars and stores, let alone in a downtown business district.
What has happened to dignity, honor, and respect — and self-respect? Why does a woman walk out in broad daylight on a city street wearing only her PJs?
I am certainly not equating wearing PJs with being a traitor, but I am sad to see disrespect and dishonor commonly accepted in realms far more important than pajamas in a front yard. Disrespect and dishonor can certainly lead away from what is good and toward what is not.
Let’s look at some of God’s teachings about honor. These are lessons you will want to include as you train your children.
You shall rise up before the grayheaded
and honor the aged,
and you shall revere your God;
I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:32
Honor your father and your mother,
as the Lord your God has commanded you . . . .
Deuteronomy 5:16a
O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
. . . [He] who honors those who fear the Lord.
Psalm 15:1, 4
Marriage is to be held in honor among all. . .
Hebrews 13:4a
Honor all people, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honor the king.
1 Peter 2:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
the only God,
be honor and glory forever and ever.
Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17
I believe that people feel it is ok to wear pajamas in public because they are more covered than a person wearing a bathing suit, which has been accepted for a long time, although that is no more modest than going out in ones undergarments.
I don’t claim to understand our society.