SKILL #1: READ God’s Word through the lens of honor and shame. Reading the Bible is a cross-cultural experience. Reading the Bible through the lens of honor and shame is an attempt to know the Word of God the way the original hearers would have heard it or read it. It’s an effort to de-Westernize our reading of the Scriptures. Read one book at a time. CLICK HERE—for a quick-guide to reading the Bible through the lens of honor and shame.
SKILL #2: SPEAK using the Bible’s language of honor and shame—both in conversation with people and in prayer to God. Talk with others together about what you’re learning. Become comfortable using words like honor and glory relative to our own relationship with Christ. Pray Scripture. Pray together using the honor/shame words found in God’s Word.
SKILL #3: WALK your own authentic path of shame to honor—in the light of Christ. Discovering the honor of who we are in Jesus Christ has two facets—like two sides of the same coin.
- Being vulnerable about our own shame. All persons deal with shame—whether as agents or victims of sin. We must allow the work and Person of Christ deal with our shame. Personal prayer times and small groups characterized by high-trust are healthy places for vulnerability.
- Experiencing the honor of who we are in Christ. See yourself and your church family as a part of the story and drama of the honor-status reversal of Jesus Christ. Pray together with others about overcoming shame and experiencing honor—in relation to Jesus Christ. This sense of honor may be experienced both individually with the Lord, and in community with the Lord, that is, together in the love and ministry of the Body of Christ, the church.
