I remember sitting in elementary school and hearing the voice of the principal calling out over the intercom the name of some child in my class. My first response was "wonder what he/she did wrong." The reason we have such a response is because we live in a "guilt" based culture. In our culture so much of our thinking is wrapped up in guilt. Almost every issue we struggle with is deciding whether something is right or wrong. We create this dichotomy of right verses wrong. The result is since we don't like to feel guilty we go through great length to make more and more things acceptable.
In the biblical world (and modern Middle East) the issue was not guilt but rather shame. In a guilt based culture the issue is innocence in a shame based culture the issue is honor. Honor is the word for worth, value, prestige, and reputation which an individual claims and which is acknowledged by others. In this type of society shame can be seen as a virtue. For if a person has shame it means they are willing to fully participate in the societal dynamics. They value what others think of them. A "shameless" person doesn't care what others think of them. Shamelessness means that one does not participate in the game of reputation.
A shame based culture values conformity where a guilt based culture values individualism.
It is through the lenses of honor/shame that we must read the Prodigal Son. It is also helps us understand Jesus' teaching on community discipline in Matthew 18: 15ff. The story goes to great lengths to keep a persons honor intact. When a person who claims to profess the belief of the community and acts contrary to those beliefs that brings shame on the community.
Instead of always asking if something is "right or wrong" there are many occasions where the ethical debate depends on whether something is honorable or not.
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