The Honor System

March 17, 2009

Today's Reading: Numbers 35-36 and Acts 27

Sometimes I wonder how far we have fallen. At one point in time, we lived without locks, bars on the windows, passwords, and contracts by lawyers. In other words, we had a sense of honor.

Look at the way law enforcement was done back in the time of the Israelites. They actually had a system to protect those who killed someone accidentally. I really can’t think of any system that we have like that now. I mean, I guess the closest that it comes to today is calling the cops if you accidentally killed someone. I think everyone would agree that is probably the correct action in that situation.

I have to admit, if there was a situation where I accidentally murdered someone, then the last thing I would want to do is call the cops. I mean, what if someone presses chargers, and my manslaughter charge gets switched to second-degree murder? Then it is off to prison, and I guess I’ll get to see if all those movies that take place in prison are true. You know, like in Shawshank Redemption: “I’d like to say that Andy fought. I would like to say that they beat them back. But prison is not a fairy-tale world.”

A culture in which a system is implemented to protect the unintentionally guilty is quite advanced, as it implies that the one who is guilty of a potential crime has the self-determination enough to turn him or herself in.

In Acts, there was a similar situation. Paul was on a ship, bound to be tried by Ceasar, and the boat makes a stop in Sidon. One of the men on the boat, Julius, allows Paul to get off the boat and say hello to his friends.

It doesn’t say whether Paul had to do this under armored guard. It doesn’t sound like there was a holding chamber with one of those two-way phone things that you see in movies. I’m guessing they just let Paul go off, and they actually got to see him again.

What the heck kind of society was this? I mean, Rome did some sick things back in the day, and yet this kind of honor system still existed.

These days, the honor system is still not dead. If I am working at a public library or coffee house, I can still go to the bathroom and not find that my portable computer has been stolen. Personally, I think that is a good sign that there is still good in the world, and it is worth fighting for. (Yeah, I took that from Lord of the Rings.)