From The Officers Seat
“Pride & Ownership” coupled with “Wisdom & Honor”
We all hear about Pride & Ownership, there are even classes out there that are supposed to
guide us in this area. In my personal opinion “P & O” in my opinion is not a complete way to
look at things. Yes, we must take Ownership for our actions and yes, we must have Pride in
what we do, but let’s look at it a different way.
Wisdom is defined as - the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
David Cuschieri said, “Wisdom Is Simply Living Life, Having Experiences Along the Way and Learning from Them –
Not Labeling Them as Good or Bad but As Opportunities to Learn.” Ecclesiastes 7:10 says, “Walk in wisdom toward
them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may
know how ye ought to answer every man.” Seasoned with Salt? How many of us have used the phrase, “An Old
Salty Firefighter?” That means an old experienced firefighter, a Wise Firefighter. Proverbs 11:2 says, - “When pride
cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.” Would we rather learn from someone full of Pride? Yes,
we can be Proud in Our Accomplishments, but why not be Wise in Our Decisions and then Our Accomplishments will
certainly be something to be Proud of. How many have made the statement, “He is cocky.” Many people take Pride
in having that Persona but wouldn’t we rather be known as being Wise? I am not knocking taking Pride in what you
do or being Proud of what you have done, it’s when we cross the line. This is when Proverbs 16:18 comes in to play,
“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” With Wisdom, we can recognize this and check
ourselves, this will obviously lead to a Greater Outcome.
Honor is defined as - high respect; esteem, a privilege. In our line of work many people think that being a firefighter or
an officer gives them honor. Niccolo Machiavelli an Italian Politician once said, “It’s Not Titles That Honor Men, But
Men That Honor Titles.” If we Honor our titles, then we are in essence taking Ownership of our position. 2 Peter
1:10 says, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these
things, ye shall never fall:” This speaks directly to Ownership. Look at the word “Fall.” It was used with Pride and now
it is used with Ownership. What does it mean, Too much Pride, we fall, plain and simple, but if we are Diligent in Our
Calling, we will Never Fall. That is simply Amazing that The Lord Would Inspire the writers of a book that would equip
us with so much knowledge that we can have Wisdom, Honor, Ownership, and Control Our Pride in a way that we can
be successful. Our Honor as men and women and also as firefighters can be summed up in one verse. 1 Peter 2:1719 says, “Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King.”
Together this department has shown many of us many things about being a family, about helping others,
about helping each other. Most importantly together we can also accomplish many things. Philippians 4:13
says “I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.” With that said WE CAN DO ANYTHING, as a
department, as a friend, as a family, and most importantly as an individual. When Control Our Pride, Make Our
Decisions Wisely, Perform Our Duties with Honor, and take Ownership in Our Actions, just imagine what we could
achieve as a department and as a human being.
Lay Going In,
Captain Steve Quinn