The owner of a café in Salt Lake City, Utah offers patrons a unique method of paying their bill. Instead of charging customers for their meals, Denise Cerreta lets the people who enjoy a meal in her café pay on the honor system. She placed a money chest at the rear of the café, and asks customers to pay what they think the meal is worth. Cerreta adopted the new policy a year ago, and is on the verge of showing a profit.

Cerreta's shop, The One World Café, depends on the kindness of strangers, both rich and poor. The landlord allows Cerreta to determine her own rent each month. A self-employed gardener named "Farmer John" trades Cerreta produce from his spice garden for meals, and retired oil-gas engineer Bill Wood donated a quarter acre lot for a vegetable garden three blocks from the café. He also picks up the water bill. Other customers volunteer for kitchen duty to cover their meals. Customer Carolyn Pryor says, "Sometimes I pay less because I have less money. But I pay more when I have money. It always seems to balance out."

Though operating on the honor system can be challenging, Cerreta says the café is worth the effort. She admits the profit margin "comes and goes." Then she adds, "It's a wash right now, but I'm committed to this working."

—http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/business, Utah Restaurant Bets on Honesty, July 12, 2004, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

If you lived your life on the “honor system” how would the people you do business with fare? Could they make a living, or would they be forced to go bankrupt. The only organization I know of that serves on the “honor system” (other than this Utah Café) is the local church. Because the church doesn’t charge for its services it is dependant upon the generosity of the people who attend to see that it is able to carry out its mission to the world. How is your church faring?

Hebrews 13:18 (NASB) “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”

Since September 11, President Bush’s approval rating has remained at an all time high. A new survey suggests that no matter how popular the President is, he still doesn’t match Mom when it comes to deserving a special honor.

A new survey conducted for a gift company found 40 percent of respondents chose Mom as the person they would like to honor. Mom ranked higher than President Bush, as the person most deserving a gift. The survey also found reciprocal feelings when mothers were questioned. 27 percent of 25 to 55-year old women surveyed wanted to give a gift to their children.

How odd that even though we set aside a day to honor Mothers, some Moms still sought to honor those who benefit most from their time and energy—their children. Proverbs 31 describes a virtuous woman. She works hard planting, buying, and making clothes to benefit her family and community. Her husband has full confidence in her, while her children rise up and call her blessed. The writer of the book focuses on the quality that is truly honorable in any person.

Proverbs 31:30 NIV “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

—www.prnews.com, Mom Rises to the Top When it Comes to Gift Giving, May 2,2002. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

On June 25th, 2012 the Queen of England spoke about giving honor to whom honor is due. While the queen accepted Prince William’s new bride into the family, she is requiring that she curtsey when in the presence of a blood princess, especially if her husband is not beside her.

--http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18580322 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Ed Peterson

Romans 13:7 (NASB95) “Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”

In an era when baseball players chewed tobacco, spitting was common. Today they chew gum and eat sunflower seeds. So why do players, managers, coaches, and umpires still spit? California psychoanalyst, Mary C. Lamia says it is to intimidate their opponents. “Spitting evokes a disgust response.” When players spit they are displaying their “fearless disdain, condescension, or disregard” for their opponent.

After Paul was ill in Galatia he wrote them back thanking them that in his condition they did not “spit” at him, but received him as from God. Even then, spitting was a sign of condescension or disregard for another. The Christian response is acceptance rather than disdain. –Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Galatians 4:14 (MSG) And don't you remember that even though taking in a sick guest was most troublesome for you, you chose to treat me as well as you would have treated an angel of God—as well as you would have treated Jesus himself if he had visited you?

A college in Massachusetts has changed all of the speed limit signs on campus to honor a retired mathematics professor. When he retired, Professor David Kelly asked that the speed limit be changed to 17 mph instead of 15 mph because he had spent his entire career fascinated by the number 17. Kelly had been at the school for 45 years, and said he would forego a retirement party if the school changed the signs. Kelly said he feels the tribute captures the unique quality of the school. He knows a lot about the number 17, which is the seventh prime number. Kelly said there are many fun facts about 17, including that there are 17 columns on the long side of the Parthenon in Greece.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

College honors prof with 17 mph speed limit, http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/college-honors-prof-with-17-mph-speed-limit/ar-AAfwpNo, Accessed October 16, 2015.

Proverbs 16:31 (HCSB) Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the way of righteousness.

77-year-old Professor Emeritus George Smith won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and his University recognized him for his achievement by giving him a dedicated space on a bike rack. Apparently, it is customary for Universities to give a dedicated parking space for their Nobel Laureates, but in this case, a slot on a bike rack was more appropriate since Smith usually rides his bike to the office.

Regardless of the expression, honoring people is the right thing to do. —Jim L. Wilson

“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you,”

When the bridge opened, officials inadvertently dropped a “z” from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge resulting in 96 signs having the misspelled name. In 2018, New York Governor Cuomo signed a bill allowing the addition of the dropped “z” to the signs, correcting the error. Why make the change after all these years? Cuomo said, “We are correcting this decades-old misspelling out of respect to the legacy of the explorer and to New York's heritage.” —Jim L. Wilson

“Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

A corn maze cut into a field about 60 miles west of Oklahoma City can be seen from orbit. A satellite photographed the maze honoring Oklahoma-bon Thomas Stafford, which was cut into a ten-acre-field. The Stafford Air and Space Museum helped create the unique image to honor the 88-year-old Stafford whose space missions included commanding the Apollo flight that linked with a Soviet spacecraft in 1975, marking the first time American astronauts and Soviet Cosmonauts met in space.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Rodney Smith Jr. set out on a personal mission several years ago. He owns half of lawn care business in Alabama and often helps people who are unable to mow their own lawn because of age, disability, or being a busy single mom. He wanted to travel America and mow the lawns of military veterans in all 50 states. He traveled the country by car to complete the first 48 states, but found getting to Alaska and Hawaii was a different story. He was trying to work out a plan when an Airline company stepped in and offered to fly Smith to the last two states at no cost. Smith told a local television station that he had asked God to use him as his vessel, and was excited about the opportunity. While enroute to mow the final lawns, the airline company sent Smith a message saying, “Glad to have you aboard! A one-of-a-kind person like yourself deserves the first class treatment. We’re honored to help you complete the 50-state journey and thank you for recognizing our veterans in this incredible way.”-Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Psalm 84:11 (CSB) For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord grants favor and honor; he does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity.

More than 30 years after his father died, an Oklahoma man paid tribute to his father by tracking down and buying a Dodge Challenger that his father previously owned. Bobbie Bohnsak was eight years old when his father died in an accident. He shared his father’s name and as he grew also shared his father’s love for cars, including a 1974 Dodge Challenger. His father bought the car brand new when he returned from serving in the Vietnam war. When the family moved to Oklahoma, the elder Bohnsak sold the car when the family needed extra money. The son found the vehicle identification number on old paperwork searched for the car. He found the car listed for sale in California and arranged to purchase it. Bohnsak said the car had been repainted and ran a little rough, but he is glad to have it back in the family—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell