Strength and Honor!

 

 

"Even though it was only a movie, the concept of 'strength and honor' has stayed with me..."

In the movie Gladiator, which was based somewhat on history, prior to going into battle General Maximus Decimus Meridius would say something his fellow officers. "Strength and honor" - and then it was passed on to fellow soldiers down the line. It was a simple yet very profound saying. It readied the troops for the upcoming battle. It was how they were to fight, it was how they were to win, it was how they were to die. It was their code of conduct.

For some reason, I started thinking about the saying again yesterday on the way home from church. Could that memory have been triggered by something I heard in the message which was delivered? Very well could have been. However in the movie Gladiator, "strength and honor" had to do with battle. Yesterday, my thoughts concerning "strength and honor" had nothing to do with battle, and everything to do with how we live our lives.

Why do I say that? When I watch the news or read the paper, I often see behavior or actions which exhibit everything but strength and honor. I see lies, dishonor and weakness of character. It is easy to see the very worse of us rather than the very best. We as a society have lost our way with our honor, with our strength. Many today embrace hedonism and nihilism, and walk away from virtue and compassion. As Judge Robert Bork pointed out in his book, as a nation we truly are "slouching towards Gomorrah". And that is not a good thing.

By the way, this is not a sermon to condemn others. The finger points directly back at myself. Our elected leaders are only a reflection of us. If we want them to be better, we need to be better. We need to live our lives better. We need to be more God honoring. We need to live by the principles defined in our Constitution. We need to be more loving towards others. We need to practice the age old rule of telling the truth - being honest with others. And we need to be more caring. Not through government, but through ourselves. It is vital we care for the least of us.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." He was right. Change starts right here inside of me. And it needs to start now. Not January 1st, so it can be one more resolution which I break. It will start now. Strength and honor in everything I do, every day I am alive. So I close by saying, strength and honor my brothers and sisters, strength and honor.