Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard
than anyone else expects of you.
Never excuse yourself.
Henry Ward Beecher
To the warrior, laws are pretty much worthless. Laws are for men of low character who need someone else to keep them in line with the threat of punishment. This is not to say that warriors do not have to obey the laws of the land, at least most of the time. What it does mean is that the warrior’s code of ethics is actually stricter than any law of the land. His standards require him to keep a closer watch on his actions than any law could.
The warrior holds himself to a higher standard than anyone else expects of him, just as Henry Ward Beecher suggests that you should do. He doesn’t bend his “rules” as one does with discretionary laws such as speed limits, etc. For this reason, he finds most laws useless. The true man of character doesn’t need laws in order to do what he should. He simply does what’s right regardless of whether or not there is a law to guide him.
Moreover, even if there were no laws, the warrior would still live the same lifestyle of honor and integrity. The point here is that the warrior sets his own law. That law is his code of honor or code of ethics. He decides what is right and what is just, and lives accordingly. You may be thinking if everyone did that we would have anarchy, and you would be exactly right. Everyone is not a man of honor. That is why we have to have laws – for lesser men who will not discipline themselves.
Bohdi Sanders
(From the book, WARRIOR: The Way of Warriorhood.)
WARRIOR: The Way of Warriorhood is now available, in both paperback and on Kindle,
from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELWCALA.
Signed copies and package book deals are available on:
http://thewisdomwarrior.com/books-by-bohdi-sanders/.
