A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 3 of 4)

by Marilynn Chadwick

…continued from yesterday

I emphasized the importance of honoring men in an editorial I once wrote for our local newspaper after the passing of the legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith. Along with great basketball, Coach Smith taught his players, including my husband, much about honor. David says that next to his own father, Smith was the most significant man in his life. Though the excerpt below is primarily about men as fathers, it begs the question as to why the lack of honor toward men today:

Good dads these days are hard to find. Just watch any television show. Dads are spoofed, maligned, caricatured, and generally disrespected. The message? It’s just not cool to be a dad. If the same treatment were given to moms, you’d spark a revolt.

But that’s the nature of dads. The good ones don’t whine. They don’t show off. They put the needs of their families ahead of their own. And as Coach Smith modeled for us all, good dads embody self-sacrifice. In short, good dads are that reservoir of safety and unconditional love for which all kids hunger. Quite likely, they’re a major factor in determining the outcome of a young person’s life. The statistics aren’t pretty. Kids without dads are more likely to end up pregnant out of wedlock, in prison, poor, or dead. And bad dads may be worse than no dads, leaving scars inside and outside that can last a lifetime.

But I’m seeing a resurgence of dad-hunger out there. I think people today are literally dying for good dads. Perhaps Coach Smith’s legacy will inspire dads to be better. Smith knew it wasn’t simply about winning and losing but rather “how you play the game.” His life reminds us that good guys are very cool. And just maybe, more guys will want to become good dads. Lord knows we need them.

The responses to my editorial surprised me. Had I touched a nerve? Handwritten notes and emails poured in from a variety of readers—male and female, young and old. A prominent defense attorney even shared the memory of his own father, now deceased, reminiscing about what an honorable man his dad was in his eyes. A federal judge, a bank president, the local head of a government agency, a former mayor. Each told me about the honorable men in their lives. One even confided his heart’s desire to be a man of honor within his own family. Several young moms, all who happened to be at home with small children, wrote in to praise their husbands for their hard work and for being such good husbands and fathers. Others posted on social media that they were challenged by my reminder to simply be thankful for the honorable men in their lives.

The responses made me wonder. What has happened to honor these days? Are we a culture that’s thirsty for honor? It certainly made me think…

…to be continued tomorrow.

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This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by clicking here!