It's about honor!
hon·or (ŏn'er)n.
1) Good name; reputation.*
2) Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity.*
There was a time when truck drivers were seen as the knights in shining armor on the road. If an elderly couple or a young pregnant lady had a flat on the road twenty miles from nowhere, they were glad to see a truck pull over. They trusted that the man who drove that truck would treat them with respect and that he would help them get on their way. That does not happen nearly as often now as it did then, partly because there has been an increase in crimes committed against unsuspecting "good samaritans" and partly because truck drivers are frequently on very tight schedules. Manufacturing and warehousing processes have changed now so that many facilities operate with just on time deliveries of supplies to keep their lines running. Two hours late, and the line goes down. In some cases, though, it doesn't happen because some men are not the men of character that they once were. They've become hardened by life on the road.
It is important to keep a good name or reputation. A bad reputation is difficult to overcome. Solomon mentioned in Proverbs that a man who betrayed the confidence of a neighbor would never lose his bad reputation. (Proverbs 25:9-10) Good reputations are without value. They go before us, but sometimes not as quickly as a bad reputation. Good reputations can keep us in a job. Bad reputations can keep us looking for a job.
The more important reputation, though, is the one we have at home. Do we have reputations at home of being men who love and cherish our wives and children? Or is our reputation that of men whose entire life is wrapped up in that steering wheel, that white stripe, and the hidden lures that lie along the roadside?
Bus or truck driving, entertaining, selling - all are honorable professions.
But the profession in itself does not provide the honor or reputation that we should require ourselves to maintain. Our honor is what we do with our lives while we earn our livings on the road. Our honor is that reputation that preceeds us to the front door when we get home for a night or two. It is that reputation that is often stored only in memories.
There is another form of honor. It is defined as "High respect, as that shown for special merit; esteem: the honor shown to a Nobel laureate."* It is not a position on a pedestal so much as it is a place of respect.
This honor is a position that is granted by God because of the way we live our lives. The following passages from the Bible tell us very directly that God has a way of bestowing honor.
1 Chronicles 29:11-12(NKJV) - "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You..."
Psalm 62:7 (NIV) - "My salvation and my honor depend on God."
Psalm 84:11 (NIV) - "...the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."
The questions then become, what does God expect of me? What have I been doing that goes contrary to a life of honor? Have I been all that I should be - for my family, for my employer, for my Creator? Have I been the man that God created me to be? That is where integrity and purity come in. There is nothing more important in becoming the man that God created us to be than to become men whose lives are characterized by integrity and purity.
You may think that such a life is impossible on the road. Temptations are everywhere. Stress is an all-day thing for many. Loneliness calls on us to do things we would never consider doing at home. Click on the links, "It's about integrity!" and "It's about purity!" at the top of this page to learn more about this life of honor, integrity, and purity on the road.
* Definition from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition through Answers.com.
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