I began this post sort of reluctantly because the subject is far too extensive to deal with in a simple article like this. But nonetheless, I felt compelled to yield to the nagging voice in my head telling me that we ought to at least consider it. The culture Jesus lived in had what we would call an Honor vs. Shame approach to evaluating and responding to life in general. In this upside down world we live in, it might be helpful for all of us to think for a minute about what life would look like if we saw it through the lens of an honor vs. shame approach like the first century Jewish culture in which Jesus lived.
The honor/shame culture that has characterized God’s people throughout their history has been intriguing for me for quite a while, because it’s so helpful in understanding what motivated so many Biblical characters to do and say what they said and did. But the subject moved up on my list of important things to think about in a sort of unusual way.
An Unexpected Reminder ~
I was watching a daily news show, and among the items they covered was a story about a guy who plunged into a huge Bass Pro Shops aquarium totally naked. As the panel on the news show exchanged the predictable kinds of semi-crude quips that a story like that would
produce, the realization was reinforced yet again that in our current culture, the concept of shame has lost its definition. It seems that everywhere we look, disgusting, reprehensible behavior is displayed and defended as normal. Honest, uplifting speech promoting healthy, righteous behavior is repudiated and demeaned. Sexual perversions that insult God’s design are heralded as desirable. Sad and disturbing thoughts about the death of shame came my way with an unexpected paradoxical caption.
More years ago than I care to remember, a guy who called himself, “Fats Domino,” had a hit song titled, “Ain’t That a Shame”. It has long since been relegated to the status of another dusty relic of pop music history. But when I reflected on how God’s original role for the concept of shame had been choked to death by a godless culture determined to bury it forever, “Ain’t That a Shame” seemed like an appropriate epitaph for its tomb.
Taking a Second Look ~
But then I thought … Wait a minute! Maybe that’s not the right kind of response. Why should 
we just stand by, hang our heads, and weep and wail with the mourners? Didn’t Tabitha’s friends change their tune when Jesus showed up (Acts 9:36-42 NKJV)? Did the procession keep on wailing in Nain after Jesus laid His hands on the coffin (Luke 7:11-16 NKJV)? Didn’t tears of grief change to shouts of joy after Jesus told Lazarus it was time to get up (John 11:17-43 NKJV)? And don’t we still serve the One with a history of greeting death by emptying tombs and vacating coffins?
There’s no doubt that the protective role God intended the concept of shame to play in our lives has been laid to rest in our country’s prevailing culture. But resurrections are Jesus’ trademark. Rather than seeing death as a hopeless end, He prefers to make it a “wakeup” call. The resurrecting power that Jesus has proven repeatedly can extend to other realms as well. It can also be applied when we’ve allowed basic principles, ordained by God to bless and prosper our lives, to be assassinated. So, the question we should ask ourselves is not how and why we let the death of shame occur, but how do we work in concert with our Risen Lord to bring it back to life again?
A Predictable Process ~
We must begin by acknowledging that shame didn’t die alone. It was a double murder, and the partner that it could not live without died ‘first’. There’s a lens through which God’s people and virtually every Middle Eastern culture throughout history view and evaluate life. It’s referred to as an Honor vs. Shame approach. Our primary purpose at this juncture is not to try to present a detailed definition of either component. We simply want to point out that understanding either is dependent on acknowledging the reality of the other. So, if it’s an Honor vs. Shame dichotomy, and shame turns up dead, guess what died first? (Y’all are geniuses!) Obviously if the role of shame has disappeared, the honor that gives it definition has lost its place as well. That begs another question with an obvious answer. What needs to be resurrected first? And all the geniuses said, “Honor!”
Long before we allowed the protective role of shame to be strangled, we watched honor’s life sustaining energy being slowly drained away. For decades, an increasingly selfish, narcissistic,
pleasure-seeking approach to life has morphed honor from something to be graciously extended when its values are displayed, to something to be greedily expected for no reason or to be extorted with no limits. So where and how do we begin our cooperation with God to resurrect the role of honor and shame in our country? Clearly none of us as individuals are likely to have an impact on the whole country, but we can embark on a mission that might just make more of an impact than we think. Here are just a few examples God gives us to start with:
- Paving the way for honor begins with rejecting selfishness and narcissism in our own life.
Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility (Proverbs 18:12 NKJV)
- Our bodies are God’s creation, and He should be honored in how we use them.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 NKJV)
- Learning the value of honor and shame begins in the family. First between husbands and wives, and then as children toward their parents, and for followers of Jesus, extending honor to our brothers and sisters in Christ is expected as well.
Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7 NKJV)
Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: (Ephesians 6:2 NKJV)
Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another (Romans 12:10 NKJV)
- We serve an incredibly generous God, and He expects us to reflect that by what we do with our resources, like caring for those in need and acknowledging who it is who provides for us.
Honor widows who are really widows. (1 Timothy 5:3 NKJV)
Honor the Lord with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your increase (Proverbs 3:9–10 NKJV)
A Pathway to Peace & Prosperity ~
When the values that undergird the role of honor and shame are in place and actively maintained, peace prevails and prosperity thrives. When those values are rejected, discounted, or twisted into some disfigured perversion, the social demise begins. First, the honorable things begin to die. Eventually, nothing human depravity can produce is considered shameful anymore.
We followers of Jesus are the caretakers of those foundational values and powerful principles in the midst of a world that wants to eliminate both. As we engage the world this week, we will once again sadly see honor extended to those who exemplify corruption and immorality, and those who courageously stand for righteousness and true justice will be condemned as evil. May God help us to be living contradictions to that destructive upside down trend!
A Closing Admonition ~
And may we remind one another that love beyond our understanding moved the sinless Son of God to willingly take all our shameful deeds upon Himself. Then, after enduring its awful condemnation, He left it on a bloody cross and clothed us with His righteousness. Because of that, all who believe now share the glory and honor that He alone deserves.
“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to Tweet & Share from the pull quotes below. Each quote links directly to this article through Twitter.
-
-
- “Resurrections are Jesus’ trademark. Rather than seeing death as a hopeless end, He prefers to make it a “wakeup” call. The resurrecting power that Jesus has proven repeatedly can extend to other realms as well.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
-
-
-
- “We’ve allowed basic principles, ordained by God to bless and prosper our lives, to be assassinated. The question we should ask ourselves isn’t how and why we let the death of shame occur, but how do we work in concert with our Risen Lord to bring it back to life again?” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
-
-
-
- “Shame didn’t die alone. It was a double murder. Honor, the partner it couldn’t live without died first. Understanding either is dependent on acknowledging the reality of the other.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
-
-
-
- “There’s a lens through which God’s people and virtually every Middle Eastern culture throughout history view and evaluate life. It’s referred to as an Honor vs. Shame approach. We want to point out that understanding either is dependent on acknowledging the reality of the other.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
-
-
-
- “If it’s an Honor vs. Shame dichotomy, and shame turns up dead, guess what died first? If the role of shame has disappeared, the honor that gives it definition has lost its place as well. So, what needs to be resurrected first? … And all the geniuses said, “Honor!” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
-
-
-
- “We followers of Jesus are the caretakers of the Honor/Shame foundational values and powerful principles in the midst of a world that wants to eliminate both. May God help us to be living contradictions to that destructive upside down trend!” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
-
Gallagher's Pen ~ 
You’ve hit the nail on the head once again, Ron. I’m just now getting around to reading this as we’ve had an emergency while here on St. Simon’s for a memorial service. Danny’s pacemaker began to shock him mercilessly. He is now at the local hospital in stable condition, and it’s a day-by-day recovery, which might involve having his pacemaker replaced at that hospital. I can at least stay with my brother and his family once our lease for the Airbnb runs out on Monday. Prayers are so needed, my friend, and we’d be honored to have yours!
LikeLike
Thank you so much for sharing your and Danny’s situation, Martha, and please be assured that Diane and I are praying for both of you as this situation unfolds. We’re so grateful that he’s in a place where he can get the care he needs, and our prayer is that God will provide the best minds, hearts, and hands in determining the most effective course of action for Danny and that He will provide the faith, comfort, and encouragement you need as you walk through this journey with him. We’ll try to keep up to speed through your posts, and will be under this with you. You have become an extended part of our family and friend we treasure from a distance. We have our community group over later this evening and will include you and Danny in our prayer time with them. Meanwhile, may God help you to share your love with those who are gathering around you during this crisis.
LikeLike
As I was reading your post, I attempted to apply those words to my life. Following my adoption, I began to learn what it meant to live an honorable life. I did so through the example my adoptive parents displayed in how they lived there lives. I can remember asking my dad, “Why did you do that? This person would have never known?” I”ll always remember his response; “I will know and that means God knows too.” Another time I stated, “It would have been easier to simply put a new one on rather than rebuilding the old one.” His response was, “Yes, but did you consider that even though I charged less to rebuild it than a new one would have cost, that I actually made more profit and have a guarantee of even more in the future?” When I asked, “How are you guaranteed more in the future?” Dad smiled and said, “He’ll come back again and again.”
Great lessons for a young fella to learn. I first applied those lessons in my life by purposing myself to never let my dad down. To never bring shame upon the family name. To live an honorable life.
I can’t tell you that I always did the honorable thing and that my dad was never ashamed of me or someone outside the family would say, “I can’t believe their son would do such a thing.” Satan loved to use those misgivings to fill me with guilt and trap me in the “You’ll never be good enough game.” He was right, “I” never could be and never will be good enough. I’ve learned though that “Christ in me”, was, is, and will always be.
I also thought about how those two words have been switched in this world today. What was once considered to be shameful behavior is now considered honorable. I’m still trying to figure out how killing your unborn child for convenience sake or proudly showing the world you are a degenerate with a reprobate mind makes you honorable and someone who others will laud as good examples or (gulp) worthy of praise and honor?
It’s so sad to see how Satan has coerced this world into bring the words of Isaiah 5:20 to life.
Looking most forward to your next installment my friend. Thank you!
LikeLike
I love the stories you tell about how your adoptive dad influenced your life. It always moves my mind and heart to those people God brought into my life to teach me, sometimes reprimand me, but in either case to extend love to me that I didn’t deserve. I think that in your case, God is bringing dividends to fruition that extend far beyond you. life wasn’t easy for our mentors and they certainly weren’t flawless in their own journeys, but they did all they could to prepare us for the tough roads they knew we’d be facing and I am so grateful that they took the time to illustrate how honor and shame were supposed to work.
As i tried to point out, we’ll never see a resurgence of the protective role of shame unless we begin as individuals to practice extending honor where it belongs, especially toward those who may hold influential offices in church or elsewhere, and also to withhold it from those who want to coerce it from us as food for their own ego.
Anyhow, I’m blessed as always to hear your insights and inspirational reflections, Brother, and be assured that Diane and I are continuing to pray for all of you as you trudge through another winter season. Thank you again for the energizing encouragement and uplifting thoughts you kick into gear with your comments.
LikeLiked by 1 person