The Scout Law: Reverent

November 24, 2025

As we conclude our twelve-part series on the Scout Law, we reach the twelfth point: A Scout is Reverent. I will never forget my first summer camp at the tender age of eleven. Kentucky had not had rain for months, and it looked like we were going to get it all back that night. As the storm hit I had battened down my tent the best I knew how, but the first wind gust slammed my tent to the ground. I hooked my feet in the mud flaps, holding the tent sides to the ground with my body weight, which was about 70 pounds at the time.

Not long after that another wind gust lifted the tent and I found myself upside down, head on the ground, and praying the most heart-felt prayer of my life, “Lord, get me out of this alive, and I will give you my life.” I didn’t even have time to say, “Amen,” when the tent went back to the ground, and I was safe until I was rescued. I didn’t know it then, but I had made a deal with God, and God was going to hold me to it. Eight years later God sealed the deal, calling me to be a minister while in college.

About four eagle scouts out of one hundred grow up to be ministers. A Scout is Reverent is the most important point of the scout law to me, and I don’t miss any chance to teach the boys and their fathers what it means. We pray before meals, before adventures, before special meetings, and whenever we sense there is a problem. We pray every chance I can think of, and when we see the hand of God bring another miracle I use it as a teachable moment to show the troop how great and mighty our God is.

I have been in scouting for 58 years, as of the writing of this article. I have seen God’s mighty hand so many times I can write a book, and probably will one day. Our troop is very adventurous, and I would never do all the things we do without the knowledge that we have prayed, and God continues to protect us. We have canoed for weeks in the wilderness of Michigan and Canada, hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail and Red River Gorge, moved 500 head of cattle on horseback in Wyoming, and snorkeled on the island of Bermuda. We have seen some great adventures and some challenging experiences, and seen God protect us through all of it

In scouting, Reverence means recognizing God’s presence in our lives and respecting the sacred, while also honoring the faiths of others. Over these three months I have written articles about being Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.

I was teaching on reverence once, and came up with a list of character traits that are opposite of each of the twelve points of the Scout Law. Here is the list: liar, betrayer, useless, hostile, rude, mean, rebellious, sad, wasteful, coward, filthy, and atheist. Hopefully you recoiled at the sound of those twelve points. They represent all the worst aspects of us as humans, and they are very easy character traits to live by.

No one teaches a child to lie, yet we lie easily to protect ourselves at a young age. Kindness is special in people because it is so easy to be mean. Filthiness is all around us, on our tongues, and in our minds. It is all around us because people find it enjoyable and entertaining.

So how do we learn to live the twelve points of the Scout Law, especially when no one knows whether we are betrayers, rebellious, or cowards most of the time. A code of character traits changes us when we seek to live by it all the time, whether anyone knows it or not.

This is where Reverence comes in. We can’t do it on our own. We need God. It is God who gives us the courage to tell the truth, even when no one will catch us lying. The other eleven points of the scout law depend on the twelfth. If you want to truly live by the twelve points of the Scout Law, get to know God as your closest friend. I guarantee He wants to get to know you.

In Psalm 96:9, we read, “Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.” Jesus modeled reverence, often withdrawing to pray and honor God (Luke 5:16), and taking his disciples to the synagogue every Sabbath.

Do you have a code of character you seek to live by? If not, I invite you to memorize the twelve points of the scout law, and then, with the help of God, in great reverence, seek to live by them and glorify God with your life. (To learn more about Al Earley or read previous articles, see www.lagrangepres.org. You can purchase my book, My Faith Journal, at Amazon.com, a compilation of 366 articles as a daily devotional. Check out my podcast on YouTube, called “My Faith Journey”).