On my honor, I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country

And to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times,

To keep myself physically strong,

Mentally awake and morally straight

 

On my honor, I will try

To serve God* and my country,

To help people at all times,

And to live by the Girl Scout Law

*The word “God” can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one’s spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, it is okay to replace the word “God” with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate.

 

As a kid I was a Boy Scout and I can remember reciting the Boy Scout Oath at every meeting and even though there have been times in my life where I have not been very involved in scouting because of my studies, as soon as someone says the words “On my honor…” I am able to recall the Boy Scout Oath totally from memory. When I took on the job of Archdiocesan chaplain for the Girl Scouts I was surprised to learn that the Girl Scout Promise also began with those same words. 

 

So what does “honor” mean? According to the dictionary “honor” means to have a “good name or public esteem.” How then does one gain or earn honor? It seems that one does not so much as gain honor as keeps it and one keeps his or her honor by being a person of integrity. It seems that people everywhere respect other people who are honest. 

 

Why is it important to be honest when taking an oath? The reason that one is expected to be honest when taking an oath or promise is because the oath is supposed to change us forever. For example Catholic theologian and author points out in his book Swear to God: The Promise and Power of the Sacraments that “it is by virtue of the oath of office –not by popular vote or by vote of the electoral college-that a man (or woman) becomes president of the United States.” The oath of office forever changes the president elect into the actual president. The oaths that we take should do the same and how we keep our oaths therefore go along way into determining whether or not we are people of honor.

 

I leave you with one last thought about honor before I end this blog. One of my favorite actors is Liam Neeson. Liam Neeson stared in a film called Rob Roy about a Scottish fighter and when I think about the word “honor” this quote from that movie comes to mind: “Honor is…what no man can give ye, and no one can take away. Honor is man’s gift to himself.”