Chapter 51: The Trapper’s Oath
The definition of an oath is “a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior”. There are innumerable quotes about honesty. William Shakespeare said, “Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself.” James E Faust said, “Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.” Many wise men say so many things about being honest. My own mom used to simply say in a tone of voice that let you know not to try otherwise, “tell the truth…” Taking an oath is promising to be honest, no matter what and to carry out your promise, no matter what.
If we give our word to someone and don’t carry through with it, they will find us out to be a liar. After a few times of not keeping a promise, they will cease believing we are capable of keeping one and they will quit relying on us. This is heartbreaking. How many times have you promised a child under your care that you would do something, only to go back on your word. You may not have done it intentionally; it may have been as simple as promising to play after doing one last thing and then not getting around to it, but it still happens and they will remember it not coming true.
As a child, I remember stretching the truth or avoiding the truth by omission a few times. I remember in fifth grade having a friend give me a tiny piece of gum while in class. Gum was strictly forbidden in school. I thought I was chewing it without anyone noticing, but Ms. Marlett must have noticed. I recall her saying for me to spit out my gum, to which I replied, “I don’t have gum,” and then I hid the miniscule piece in my cheek and stuck out my tongue to show her. She laughed and said, “well, now you’re sticking your tongue out at me?!” I am sure she knew the truth of the situation, probably because my face turned bright red, and I swallowed that gum really quickly. I felt so incredibly guilty. I think I may still feel guilty to this day to a small extent! Part of the gift of God is the Holy Spirit offering us His spirit as a conscience to make us know when we’ve done right or wrong.
As outdoor educators we make oaths to our customers. When we sign up to teach other people’s children or are leading a group of adults, we are making a promise to try our very best to educate them in ways to think about the world, to take responsibility for their protection and care, and we are promising to be an encouragement to the minds and souls of each individual we have in our group. We may not physically tell every group that these are our solemn promises, but they should know that we will carry them through by our mannerisms and teaching.
Promising to do the right thing, knowing the rules of what we should or shouldn’t do, and making an oath to ourselves and our teachers and guests to do the right thing is what will make us not only successful, but happy. I’ve known many people who don’t tell the truth or only tell what the guests want to hear thinking it will bring them back, only to make them upset when those promises couldn’t actually be carried out. Honesty is always the best policy, not just for ourselves personally, but for the life of our organization.
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