Honour and Shame - are they only non-Western ideas?

As we talk about the need for awareness of honour and shame in the context of cross-cultural missions, it might seem like a 'them and us' scenario.  

And it is true there are 'opposite ends of the spectrum' differences.

However, its not simply a 'them and us' situation. What God's word says about honour and shame speaks to everyone.

Honour and Shame are part of every human being.

But on this earth with various cultures and histories….

Their balance in relationship to Innocence and Guilt can vary.

- some cultures and groups and eras can have greater emphasis on one more than the other

The intensity can vary.

- the importance and priority of honour/shame in one group can be higher than another

The expression can be varied.

- what is considered as honourable and shameful, and what makes a person guilty or innocent can differ from one place or era to another and one group to another

- and in relation to honour/shame sometimes it can take an 'achieved' form and sometimes an 'ascribed' form or more likely various combinations of both

- culturally acceptable responses to honour and shame can also vary

Other places on this blog have already talked about how the West is becoming more 'shame' oriented.

But we also should be aware that we can be blind to the areas in which honour/shame has functioned and continues to function in the West and how relevant what God's Word says on the matter may be to us too. We may not focus on it, and it may not overtly dominate society, but it is present none-the-less.

• Do you ever remember saying at school "we won the game/match" - when you were not part of the team but you were part of the school that the team represented?  You shared in the honour of the win. On a greater scale, when countries compete at international tournaments or the Olympics, there is lots of "we won" being said by people sitting at home in their living rooms in front of a TV.  We once had a South African Pastor and as Australians we often arrived at church for him to tell us something like "we thrashed you", or "you thrashed us" after an international cricket match or rugby final between our two nations.  Neither of us were even in our own country let alone at the game or part of the team, but there was an assumption of honour/shame by association of group identity.

• Have you ever seen an 'honour roll' board at a school or sporting club or had your name put on one?

• As the Secular West tried to eliminate spanking children but still acknowledged there had to be some kind of discipine for wrong/bad/unacceptable behaviour, the 'naughty corner' or 'naughty chair' was promoted where a child was removed from the 'fellowship' or 'approval' or 'acceptance' as part of the group (family group or preschool class or whatever) and made to feel 'left out', 'shamed', 'removed', 'rejected', 'separated'.  Have you ever experienced or done that to a child? 

• Have you ever had a parent say when you left the house "behave yourself, remember you are a 'Jones' ", desiring that you live up to the honour of the family name? 

• Were you ever at school when the Principal walked into the room and you all immediately stopped what you were doing and stood up at your desks as a show of respect, not for the person but their position in relation to you as a student who was expected to submit to their instructions/rules?

• Have you ever been awarded a certificate or degree at a ceremony and given applause?

• Have you ever sought to be an accepted part of a group, or felt excluded or rejected from a group?

• Have you ever been invited or welcomed somewhere because of who your grand-father (or other older relative) was?

• I recently came across a very interesting article on the internet about how much the Feudal system has continued to permeate our societal structure without us even realising what is going on.  While Feudalism may have been strongly weighted on the 'ascribed honour' side and our current Western systems weighted on the 'achieved honour' side, there is a system of honour underlying both - there is a ranking of success from the 'average guy' at the bottom to the powerful 'high flyers' at the top. The ones at the top set the standards and make the rules and the ones below are expected to comply in return for some level of 'provision and protection'. 

• Have you ever been 'un-friended' on Facebook, or checked how many 'likes' you have, or been ridiculed, 'shown up' or insulted on social media?

• While as Westerners we may want promotions at work primarily to gain extra money, there is still a sense in which there is reward of honour in promotion, even though it may be a lesser reality in our thinking.

• Have you ever been to a wedding where the bride and groom are honoured with a 'toast'?

• Have you ever been concerned as to what other people may think of you for a particular belief, choice, action?

Are there any other situations that come to your mind where honour and shame are factors in Western Society and/or all human beings?