WQ - Honorable Professions

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. 

It's time for the Wednesday Quotes link-up hosted by Marsha at Always Write. We are starting with the word "honorable" as our prompt this week. Hmmm. Well, I started looking for quotes and a common thread, and since I've started low-key looking for a suitable part-time job recently, I started finding some direction.

To work with the hands or brain, according to our requirements and our capacities, to do that which lies before us to do, is more honorable than rank and title. ~Albert Pike

Is one profession more honorable than another? Of course it's dishonorable to steal or cheat or commit fraud, but outside of a life of crime or corruption, is there a difference among honest jobs? Being a doctor or lawyer or CEO of a Fortune 500 company comes with a bigger bank account and more prestige than being a janitor or a waitress or a garbage collector, so there's that. But I don't think there's any difference in terms of being an honest profession. Anyone who does an honest day's work for an honest wage, and who has good character is honorable.

A good education is a definite asset, but not everyone needs a Bachelor degree for the career they want and are best suited to. My personal opinion is that young people should find the most efficient way to their desired career path. For many, that does include college, but for others it doesn't have to. And here's where I definitely agree with Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame) when he points out that tradespeople are necessary to society, can make boatloads of money in their specialties without having first gone into college debt, and that it's high time we as a society in general make sure we're treating them with respect. Because their work is at least as honorable as the work of someone who has the prestigious university degrees.

The work of parents and caregivers is honorable work. The work of our men and women in law enforcement and the armed forces is honorable. Farmers and truckers and service people are engaged in honorable work. And yet these professions don't always come with a high income potential. Any of these workers can also dishonor their profession and themselves if they abuse their position or authority.

I believe that my worth is not measured by what I do, by the honors that are bestowed upon me, or by material wealth that I might obtain. Instead, I am measured by the courage I show while standing for my beliefs, by the dedication I exhibit to ensure my word is good, and the resolve I undertake to establish my actions and deeds as honorable. ~Burgess Owens

No matter what the job title or level of responsibility or salary earned, it is good character and integrity that brings honor to the person and their work. And much of that is due to how that person lives when they are not 'on the clock'. We need to recognize honest people of good character as good and trustworthy people, not just assume that people in positions of authority and influence are trustworthy.

One of the common failings among honorable people is a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them. ~Thomas Sowell

If honor were profitable, everyone would be honorable. ~Thomas More

Just because someone has wealth or status, or is making a lot of money doesn't mean they are not honorable either. It's popular in some circles to criticize the 'evil rich' or call those who are successful 'greedy capitalists' as if engaging in business is somehow a bad or selfish thing. The reason people start businesses is to make money, after all. On some level, the reason we all go to work is to make money. No matter how much we make or have, it's how we use it that determines whether we are honorable or not.

I have always recognized that the object of business is to make money in an honorable manner. I have endeavored to remember that the object of life is to do good. ~Peter Cooper 

In success be moderate. Humility makes great men twice honourable. ~Benjamin Franklin

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. ~George Bernard Shaw

What is most honorable is character, integrity, generosity, and service. It seems fitting to remember this shortly after Mother's Day, as we showed gratitude to our moms who very often modeled these character traits for us. And soon, on Memorial Day, we'll remember the service of those who put their lives on the line for our country. Examples of honorable living that had little to do with their income.

Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart . . . Life is never incomplete if it is an honorable one. At whatever point you leave life, if you leave it in the right way, it is whole. ~Seneca the Younger

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone's eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

~Romans 12:17-18~

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable ― if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy ― dwell on these things.

~Philippians 4:8~

Wednesday Quotes is hosted by Marsha at Always Write. This post will be linked at #WQ #21: Honorable

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.