What the Boy Scout Code Can Teach Us About Christian Living

Ok, I’ll admit it; I didn’t get past the “weeblo” stage in the Cub Scouts.  The opportunity to go beyond this level just didn’t exist in our little town of Mchenry, KY.  I think it would be cool if they had Boy Scouts for old men, but that would probably be weird.  Most guys I know would look a little strange with the kerchiefs.  However, I think all Christians could learn a lot from the Boy Scout code.  I recently “rediscovered this code and am impressed with the Christian values inherent in it. I became interested in “the code” while reading about my hero Theodore Roosevelt. I discovered that he served as Honorary Vice President of the BSA in 1911.  So naturally that sent me on a quest to learn more.  Cindy bought me a copy of the original Boy Scout manual (1911) and it has been a joy to read.  One thing I have learned is that the “Scout Law” consists of twelve characteristics that are very much in line with Christian virtue.  They are:

1.       A scout is trustworthy.

2.      A scout is loyal.

3.      A scout is helpful.

4.      A scout is friendly.

5.      A scout is courteous.

6.      A scout is kind.

7.      A scout is obedient.

8.      A scout is cheerful.

9.      A scout is thrifty.

10.  A scout is brave.

11.  A scout is clean.

12.  A scout is reverent. 

I want to deal with one characteristic in each of the next twelve blogs.  Today, let’s think about being trustworthy.

The manual says, “A scout’s honor is to be trusted.  If he were to violate his honor by telling a lie, or by cheating, or by not doing exactly a given task, when trusted on his honor, he may be directed to hand over his scout badge.” 

Proverbs 14.5 reads, “A trustworthy witness will not lie, but a false witness utters lies.” 

Paul admonished Timothy, “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”-

(1 Tim 6.20)

Trustworthiness (faithfulness) in the sense of completing a task is mentioned in Galatians 5.22 as one of the fruits of the Spirit. 

So being trustworthy is very much a Christian virtue.  How trustworthy are you?  Man, when I ask myself this question I cringe a bit.  Do you see yourself in any of these situations? 

1.       I would not intentionally outright lie to anyone, but how often do I exaggerate a story to make it more entertaining or embellish something that happened to make it seem more ominous?

2.      I wouldn’t want to be labeled a cheater but how often do I cheat my family out of the time I should spend with them.  Am I 100% faithful to my assigned work, or do I cheat by surfing the web while at work or taking extended time to deal with personal issues?  If I come in late to work do I stay late to make up the time?  If I’m paid for “side jobs” do I claim that as income on my taxes or do I consider it the government’s little gift to me?   

3.      Have I ever told someone I would pray for them and then didn’t follow through? -  More times than I care to admit.  Have I ever made a commitment to God and didn’t follow through with it?-More times than I care to admit. 

To me trustworthy looks like this:  Some one who tells the truth no matter what, someone is committed to finishing what they start, someone who you never have to ask, “Did you”, because you know they did. 

What does trustworthy look like to you?  How can we practice being more trustworthy?