Honour & Shame and the FACE of God

The greatest honour and glory of our life is in CHRIST alone. Shame abounds when we miss HIS GLORY within.

We all know what shame feels like — being paraded in public for stealing or fraud, cursed and cut off by your family, sitting alone because no one even wants your name mentioned. And we know what honor feels like — when respected leaders of the community call you forward, when your name is spoken with blessing, when the church and neighbors celebrate your life and fill the hall at your funeral. In the church, among family and friends, we taste honor through the esteem earned by our support, generosity, wise counsel, care, and the quiet sacrifices we make for others. But we also know the sting of shame when we cannot afford to give, to help, or to live up to those expectations — when we feel we have nothing to offer and turn our face away in silence.

The Face of honour of shame

Honor and shame are written most clearly on the human face — our most expressive and revealing canvas. To live with honor is to be met by the gaze of delight and esteem: a face that turns toward you with warmth, acceptance, and pride. Psychologists tell us that from infancy, we are mirroring beings — we learn who we are by watching the faces of those around us. A baby searches a mother’s eyes for signs of approval or rejection, and this need never truly leaves us. To see another’s eyes light up in response to us — their smile widening, their brow softening, their whole face saying “you matter, you belong, you are loved” — is the deepest affirmation of our worth.

Conversely, shame is felt as the face turned away, or worse, turned toward us in disgust, disappointment, or disapproval. The downturned mouth, the narrowed eyes, the dismissive or hidden glance cuts us to the core. Even when unspoken, the subtle signals of disdain or rejection — a face that refuses to look at us or sees through us — carry tremendous emotional weight. We become anxious, self-conscious, even defensive, as we feel exposed, unworthy, or excluded.

Among Gen Z we no longer meet face to face— the generation coming of age in the era of smartphones, social media, and globalization — the ancient forces of honor and shame are alive and powerful, though expressed in new and often more volatile forms. For previous generations, honor was typically earned through loyalty, sacrifice, and conformity to one’s family or community norms, while shame came from violating those expectations. For Gen Z, however, the arenahas shifted from village and family to the vast, digital stage of the internet.

Today, honor among Gen Z is often tied to visibility, influence, and “likes.” To be honored means being seen, celebrated, and followed — admired for one’s style, opinions, activism, creativity, or belonging to the right causes. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become the places where status is gained and maintained, making the pursuit of honor highly performative and exhausting. People curate an identity — a kind of personal brand — designed to attract validation from peers and strangers alike.

Shame, conversely, has become more public, immediate, and brutal. Where past shame might have been private or limited to a close circle, Gen Z lives under the gaze of the crowd. A mistake, an unpopular opinion, or even an ill-timed post can lead to ridicule, “cancellation,” and widespread rejection. This culture of shame breeds anxiety and perfectionism, as young people feel they must constantly perform righteousness or risk disgrace.

We were created to desire glory and honour

Humans were created in God’s image and crowned with royal honor to serve as His representatives on earth. When humanity fell into sin, we didn’t just lose our innocence — we also lost that royal honor and glory. Many people think that our desire for honor is just prideful and wrong, but that isn’t true. God Himself planted the longing for honor in our hearts as part of how He made us. This hunger for honor is not a bad thing; it’s good and right. In fact, the gospel includes the promise that in Christ, humanity is restored and glorified again — regaining the honor we were always meant to carry.

Shame and honor drive much of human life — we long to be respected, and we fear being disgraced.

Testing the Sacrifice 

But the question for us today is: Whose opinion really matters? When Jesus looks at your face — like He looked at Cain and Abel — what does He see? Does He honor you, or does He shame your falsehood?

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. (Gen 4:4-5) 

Jesus does not measure us by what others see. He sees through masks and titles into the heart. Let us listen carefully to what Jesus shamed and what He honored, and then examine our own hearts in His light.

Jesus Shames Hypocrisy and Pride

When Jesus walked among the people, He reserved His sharpest words for religious hypocrisy.

• He publicly exposed the Pharisees for praying to impress others, giving to be seen, fasting to gain honor (Luke 18:9–14).
• He called Herod a fox — sly, self-serving, and full of lies (Luke 13:32).
• He turned over tables of those turning worship into profit.

Why? Because these people wore beautiful faces outside but harbored falsehood inside.

He sees the face behind the face.

“Why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:6–7)

God gazed into Cain’s face and saw a spirit of self-righteousness not righteousness by faith— and it led to his downfall.

Jesus Honors Humility, Sacrifice, and Faith

But Jesus also delighted to honor those who came with no titles, no pride — only pure hearts.

• The widow who gave her last coin was praised above the rich who gave from surplus (Mark 12:43–44).
• The Roman centurion, a foreigner, astonished Jesus with his faith — and Jesus said: “I have not found such faith even in Israel” (Luke 7:9).
• The Syrophoenician woman’s bold faith and humility won her healing and honor from Jesus (Mark 7:24–30).

These are the faces Jesus smiled upon — faces turned toward Him in sincerity and trust, even through tears.

Beholding His Face Right Now

“Jesus began His earthly ministry declaring, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 4:17) — as if God were extending His hand to us, inviting us into His embrace, and leaning His radiant face closer to humankind. In Christ, heaven stooped down , offering both His touch and His smile to a world longing for His presence.

the joy of the Lord is your strength.’” 
Nehemia 8:10

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” 
Numbers 6:24–26 

“May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
|that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.”
Psalm 67:1–2

“Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face
who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.”
Psalm 89:15

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 
2 Corinthians 3:18

“They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:4–5

All honour is only found IN Christ, and obeying and living His life!
All shame abounds in missing HIS LIFE!

As I behold Your Face
I am transformed and changed 
From Glory to glory x2 
I am changed