True Honour: The Glory of Ceasing from Strife

It is an honour for a man to cease from strife.—Proverbs 20:3

Three laws govern human conduct: the law of honour, the law of the land, and the law of God. Religious instruction must uphold God's law as supreme, though these three need not contradict one another.

The word "honour" (timē) signifies respect or praise—the external expression of esteem rendered to commendable character. True honour belongs not to the man who hungers for reputation, but to the man of real desert, whose integrity of purpose and uprightness of life give him legitimate claim to respect.

This sentiment comprises two essential ideas: self-respect and respect for others. The honourable man values himself on the dignity of his nature, which others share equally, and conducts himself toward them as he desires to be treated—the spirit of the apostolic injunction, "Honour all men" (1 Peter 2:17). Rather than insisting on receiving deference, he is ready to defer to others, yielding something beyond what strict justice demands.

Such a generous spirit always consults the feelings of others, desires their happiness, guards their reputation, and shuns wrong as the first disgrace. It strives for right as chief honour. This sentiment has been designed by Elohim as a guardian of virtue. When enlisted on the side of righteousness, it becomes a high instinct—prompting spontaneous rectitude and causing intuitive shrinking from whatever is unworthy and base. It contradicts no civil law and harmonizes perfectly with the law of God.