This week, we’ve considered what it means to fulfill the Honor Code’s call to be dutiful in service.  We will close the week by reflecting on the question, But why?  Why be dutiful in service?  Why enslave ourselves to the master we owe?  Why not live for ourselves?

Because, as Mother Teresa once said, “Serving with a humble heart is the best way to get rich.”  Okay, she never said that—and it’s not true.  Dutiful service does not promise you wealth.

But perhaps we can draw on Winston Chruchill’s wisdom, that “[t]he man who serves out of a sense of genuine duty sits at the table of power and privilege like no other.”  Nope.  Churchill didn’t say that either—because it’s not true.  Dutiful service is not the path to worldly power.

What about the ancients? Maybe Cicero was on to something, when he declared that “praise and glory are bestowed on the one who serves; honor and renown belong to the dutiful.”  One problem—you guessed it—Cicero never said that either…and it’s not true. You may serve dutifully and never receive a single word of recognition.

So, what will you receive?  “The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness.”  Francis Scott Key—the author of our national anthem—did say that…and it is true. 

Take it from an old guy: “the promise of Almighty direction” is worth more than all the money, power, and praise in the world.  May we all find ourselves patriots in the service of God.