At one stage or another, we have all enjoyed an informal game of touch rugby or soccer, arranged ad hoc, on the spur of the moment, where teams are randomly picked and boundaries are set. The game begins but there is one thing missing – a referee. No-one wants to be the referee and no-one bothers; there is no need for a referee. The game can be played easily enough without a referee. No fights break out; no tantrums are thrown. It is accepted and the game is enjoyed. Why, then, do we ever need a referee? Why can we not get on with games without officials? If we manage to play in such a situation where we honour the rules, the opposition, the values, why do we need an official?
Honour is a big thing in our schools, is it not? Every school Hall has, in pride of place, its Honours board, where the names of the highest achievers in different realms are carefully carved. The Honours board is the highest honour for any school child. Everyone wants to have their name up there. People come back to the school years later and cast their eyes over the Honours board to bring back the memories of heroes of old.
Honour is a big thing in sport too. In golf, as the players reach every tee, they acknowledge that the person who has had the best score at the last hole has “the honour” to tee off first. It is an honour to play first, to be in pole position, and thereby set the target for others to follow. Strangely, though, while it is “your honour” to play first, as the best golfer at the last hole, when it comes to tournament golf the best players in the previous round actually play in the last group – and ironically have the worst of the conditions, with the greens scarred by other players’ stud marks.
Honour is a big thing in society as well. There are certain professions where members of the public are required to refer to these notable dignitaries as “your honour” (though it might be felt at times that deeds done do not necessarily warrant such an honour of being called “your honour”).
The question though is this: how often do we see honour honoured? We need an invigilator in exams because we would not show honour by doing the exam quietly, individually, secretly. We need a referee because we do not show honour. We have reflected previously how we should be teaching our youngsters to honour the shirt, honour the honour and privilege of representing the school or province or country. They need to be taught to honour the sport itself, being guardians of its very existence as something noteworthy. They need to honour the opposition, officials, teammates, coaches, parents, crowd even. Above all though, they need to honour honour itself.
Honour has a way of returning honour. In the classic film ‘Chariots of Fire’, Eric Liddell, who sacrificed the chance to win an Olympic gold medal in his best race, the 100 metres, on account of his Christian faith, received a biblical quote from a rival competitor which read “He who honours me I shall surely honour”. He did show honour, above all to his God but equally to his fellow athletes, and in doing so he gained further honour in winning the gold medal in the 400 metres.
Another athlete in more recent times was seen to show honour to his fellow runner in a cross-country race in Spain, refusing to overtake the front-runner who had mistaken the finish line and stopped early. Fernández Anaya recognised “I didn’t deserve to win it. He created a gap that I couldn’t have closed if he hadn’t made a mistake.” His own coach, Martin Fiz, admitted he would not have acted thus, adding “The gesture has made him a better person but not a better athlete. He has wasted an occasion.” He “earned more of a name having done what I did than if I had won”. But then Anaya himself admitted, disappointingly though honestly, that he might not have done the same if it was for a World or European medal.
We need to ensure that our youngsters understand that honour is to be honoured, to be held in the highest esteem, even in sporting fixtures and pressure situations. We should give the honour, the highest praise, to the one who displays honour. If we are ultra-competitive, then we can put into practice the biblical calling to “outdo one another in showing honour” [Romans 12:12]. We do not need referees to see who wins there either. It is a stroll in the park. Whose honour is it now?
