Honor is more than respect.

Honor is more than an emotion of reverence or an acknowledgement and appreciation of services rendered.

Honor is acting on an awareness of what someone is doing or has done by considering and meeting their needs in response to their service rendered.

And so, honor is not just attending the victory parade and pinning a medal on the chest of a warrior, it is also helping them find a job, getting them a gym membership, investing with them to start a business, structuring financing such that they can afford a house, getting them the medical attention they need for their wounds (both physical and psychological), and supporting them in whatever way possible just as they were willing to support, defend, and even give their lives to support you.

Honor is more than recompense.  It is more than trying to pay someone back for what they have provided for you.  Honor is the recognition that you cannot pay someone back for what they have offered you, but you can provide them with something of meaning and value that will demonstrate your love and commitment to them in response to the love and commitment they have shown for you.

Soldiers, sailors, airmen (and women), marines, coast guard, police, first responders, emergency personnel, and every citizen who steps up to serve others at risk to themselves when the need arises.  It is essential that our gratitude to these servants and service people is more than silence, more than apathy, more than hopes and good wishes, more than prayers and distant respect.  It is for those who are served to serve and to honor those who serve.

Jesus said,

“The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Matthew 23

So, as you celebrate Memorial Day this year, consider that the greatest among us are those who serve and consider what you can do to serve them.

It’s like Jesus said,

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20

Honoring those who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect and to serve others, honoring those who make freedom and liberty possible and defend our country against all threats foreign and domestic, honoring those who have given and will give their lives in the service of their country, honoring those who heal, rescue, and support others in the toughest situations — honoring all those who serve is one of the greatest expressions of patriotism and love of our country that most of us will ever have the opportunity to give.

So, take time to thank our veterans, appreciate and acknowledge what they have done for you, and most importantly start developing an awareness of what you can do for them.  Whether it is working to reform the office of veterans affairs to better meet their needs in a timely and effective fashion, or it is volunteering time for one of the many organizations that support our troops, or it is donating money to organizations that help veterans succeed in life after their tours of duty.  Whatever you are called and capable of doing, it is in meeting the needs and supporting the lives of those who serve that you can best express and give them the honor they have earned.

I would like to end this week with the lyrics of “America, The Beautiful”, which was written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 after visiting Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs.  Struck by the grandeur and beauty of “the sea-like expanse of fertile country . . . under those ample skies,” she started the poem which would become the lyrics to one of America’s most enduring hymns.  I think the final two verses best capture the honor owed to all who have served and given their lives so that we might live in peace, prosperity, and freedom.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

O beautiful for spacious skies,

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,

O beautiful for heroes proved

O beautiful for patriot dream

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