Honor, integrity, and respect are not things of the past. They do not belong solely to previous generations. Instead of looking at the world through negative social media posts, open your eyes to the wonderful people you interact with in your daily life who show honor, integrity, and respect.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Quotes About Honoring Parents and Grandparents
- Quotes About Honoring Veterans
- Quotes About Honoring the Dead
- Inspirational Quotes About Honor
- Quotes About Honoring Yourself
- Quotes About Courage and Honor
- Biblical Quotes About Honor
- Literary Quotes About Honor
You will see teenagers leading organizations that are making positive changes in the world. You will see neighbors helping neighbors by picking up branches after a storm or checking in on the elderly during a pandemic. You will see people honoring their parents by caring for them when they become infirm.
Let’s celebrate acts of honor and integrity. Here are some quotes to write in cards, share in social media posts, or place on banners that celebrate the people in the world who deserve respect.
Quotes About Honoring Parents and Grandparents
The Bible commands that we honor our parents every day of the year, not just on their birthdays or Mother’s and Father’s Day. Here are some quotes that will remind you to honor your parents and grandparents, even if their stories are long and their coffee is terrible.
1. “Don’t hold your parents up to contempt. After all, you are their son, and it is just possible that you may take after them.” —Evelyn Waugh
How many times do you think, “I sound just like my mother/father.” You may not want to turn into one of your parents, but somehow it always seems to happen.
2. “Don’t use the sharpness of your tongue on the mother who taught you to speak.” —Ali Ibn Abi Talib
Your mom not only taught you to speak, but she taught you to use a toilet, eat with a fork, and dress yourself. You would be a mess without your mom, so speak kindly to her.
3. “We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves.” —Henry Ward Beecher
When you become a parent, you realize all the sacrifices your own parents happily made on your behalf.
4. “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother.” —Abraham Lincoln
This often-published quote makes people feel warm fuzzies about Abe Lincoln. It makes him seem more human instead of being a superhuman figure who freed slaves and saved a country.
5.“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” —Exodus 20:12
This is one of the 10 Commandments God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is known as being the commandment “with a promise.” We are told that good things will happen if we honor our parents.
Quotes About Honoring Veterans
Are you looking for ideas on how to honor veterans? One way is to show support to the men and women in uniform every day of the year, not just Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day. Here are some quotes in honor of our veterans.
6. “Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.” —Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan’s eyesight kept him from serving overseas in World War II, but he served as a public relations officer for the Army Air Forces. Since Reagan was known as being charismatic, this was probably the perfect role for him.
7. “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” —Winston Churchill
Of course, Winston Churchill was talking about the military members of the allied forces during World War II when he said these words. Tom Brokaw called these people “the greatest generation.”
8. “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” —Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur was a bigger-than-life military leader. He was known for his role in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
9. “Ceremonies are important. But our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops and once-a-year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead best by treating the living well.” —Jennifer M. Granholm
Jennifer M. Granholm was the governor of Michigan.
10. “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” —Billy Graham
One of the most significant signs of bravery is being the first to stand up for what’s right. Billy Graham traveled the world, spreading the ideals of Christianity to anyone who would listen. He had a close relationship with many US Presidents and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan.
Quotes About Honoring the Dead
Your parents probably taught you never to say anything bad about the dead. After all, they are unable to defend themselves. Here are some quotes about honoring the dead. You may consider posting one of these quotes to remember a deceased loved one’s birthday.
11. “No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” —Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge was known by his nickname, “Silent Cal.” Fortunately, when he did speak, he came up with profound points to ponder.
12. “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; all that we deeply love becomes a part of us.” —Helen Keller
We love this quote by Helen Keller. The purest form of honoring the dead is discovering the best attributes of the dead and duplicating those in your own life.
13. “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.” —Unknown
We only treasure what we honor and respect. We tend to forget all the rest.
14. “The sorrow we feel when we lose a loved one is the price we pay to have had them in our lives.” —Rob Liano
There are many different versions of this quote, and it is attributed to several different people. No matter who originated the thought, we like what it says.
15. “Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality.” —Emily Dickinson
While most of Emily Dickinson’s poetry was unseen before her death, she wrote this line for a friend who lost her sister.
Inspirational Quotes About Honor
Surround yourself with stories of people doing courageous and honorable things. They will inspire you to live your life similarly. Here are some quotes about living with honor.
16. “Acting on a good idea is better than just having a good idea.” —Robert Half
Actions always speak louder than words.
17. “You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.” —Henry Ford
Showing integrity and respect for others takes action. It does not end with a Facebook post.
18. “No one is useless in the world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else.” —Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was known for celebrating the common man in his writing. Many of the heroes in his novels were poor people who lived with honor and integrity.
19. “Character is determined by what you can accomplish when the excitement is gone.” —Unknown
It’s easy to act with honor and integrity when people are watching, but a genuinely honorable person will continue working hard when all the help is gone.
20. “Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” —Arthur F. Lenehan
It may be lonely out on the limb, but your reward will be great.
Quotes About Honoring Yourself
The importance of respecting yourself doesn’t get enough attention. Contrary to what some would think, it’s not a selfish act. Here are some quotes to remind you that being your best self allows you to be a better servant.
21. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” —Theodore Roosevelt
You aren’t going to be able to change your life circumstances in one day, but you can take the single step that will begin your journey.
22. “They conquer who believe they can.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Make sure your inner voice is kind. After all, you are listening to that voice all day.
23. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” —Philippians 4:13
Paul wrote the epistle to the Phillippians.
24. “If you think you’re a second-class citizen, you are.” —Ted Turner
If you honor and respect yourself, you won’t let others treat you poorly.
25. “Some men succeed because they are destined to, but most men because they are determined to.” —Unknown
This determination to succeed begins with respecting yourself and knowing that you have what it takes to go far in life.
Quotes About Courage and Honor
Courage and honor often go together. Here are some quotes that will hopefully inspire you and yours to live courageously.
26. “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
What have you gone through that has given you courage and confidence? Looking at your life’s struggles in this manner may cause you to live a more satisfying life.
27. “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” –Ruth Fishel
Ruth Fishel has written many inspirational books, including “Change Almost Anything in 21 Days.”
28. “Courage takes many forms. There is physical courage, there is moral courage. Then there is a still higher type of courage – the courage to brave pain, to live with it, to never let others know of it and to still find joy in life; to wake up in the morning with an enthusiasm for the day ahead.” –Howard Cosell
We love this definition of courage from sports announcer Howard Cosell. Cosell faced many controversies in his long career.
Biblical Quotes About Honor
The Bible has much to say about honoring God and living with honor. Here are some quotes about both subjects.
29. “And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’” –Revelation 5:13
The book of Revelation was written by John and is a book of prophecy.
30. “At that time they will call Jerusalem’ The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart.”–Jeremiah 3:17
A person with honor does not show the “stubbornness of their evil heart.”
31. “He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.” –Proverbs 14:31
One way to honor God is to offer kindness and grace to the poor.
32. “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” –James 1:27
The Bible is full of instructions on how to live a life of honor.
Literary Quotes About Honor
Great literary figures have a lot to say about honor. Here are some examples.
33. “Courage is grace under pressure.” – Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was the author of “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “The Old Man and the Sea,” and “The Sun Also Rises.”
34. “My honor is dearer to me than my life.” –Cervantes
This quote is from Don Quixote.
35. “He has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.” – Walter Lippman
Walter Lippman wrote “A Preface to Morals,” as well as this wonderful description of honor.
36. “Brutus is an honorable man; So are they all, all honorable men.” –William Shakespeare
This quote is from “Julius Caesar,” specifically from Marc Antony’s speech following Caesar’s death.
37. “If I lose my honor, I lose myself.” –William Shakespeare
This is another quote from Marc Antony, this time from the play “Antony and Cleopatra.”
38. “Say, what is Honor?– ‘Tis the finest sense of justice which the human mind can frame.” –William Wordsworth
This quote came from one of Wordsworth’s untitled pieces.
39. “Let the honor of thy fellow be as dear to thee as thine own.” –Talmud
The Talmud is a book of Jewish law.
Are You Inspired?
Sometimes all it takes are the right words to inspire us to live our best lives. Think about what you allow to creep into your brain. Are the books that you read and the movies you watch inspirational? Do they encourage you to honor your parents, your family, your community, and yourself?
We hope that these quotes have given you what you need to take on your day. Share these quotes with others in your life. Who knows which of your contacts needs to hear these words right now?