On this day in history, July 12th, 1862, the Medal of Honor was created by the U.S. Army to award soldiers for extraordinary service in the face of danger. This medal, viewed by many as the highest military honor, was instituted in the second year of the Civil War and to date there have been over three-thousand Army Medal of Honor recipients.
This medal’s prestige signifies that receiving honor satisfies a deep God-given need that all humans have for validation, recognition and respect. Correspondingly, there is a God-given desire to avoid all forms of dishonor including humiliation, shame and abandonment.
God created humans to desire honor and detest dishonor. The theme of honor-shame runs throughout the Bible, starting in Genesis. God blessed (honored) Adam and Eve (Gen. 1: 28). When they sinned and hid they felt the humiliation of shame which they tried to hide with fig leaves (Gen. 3:7). When Cain killed Abel and was punished by God, the dishonor of being a “‘fugitive and wanderer”’ (Gen. 4:12) was greater than he could bear (Gen. 4:13). Noah “found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:12) and was commanded to build the ark. But after the flood when Noah fell asleep naked in his tent, his sons could not look upon the dishonor of their father and covered him discreetly (Gen. 9:23). In these early biblical narratives, God’s design for honor and shame is evident, shaping human responses towards God and one-another.
In the Old Covenant, God gave Israelites the Law and those who followed the Law were honored by God and their community. Conversely, those who disregarded or failed in following the Law were punished by God and their community and would feel a sense of shame. Since fulfilling the Law was very difficult, many felt a personal and/or communal shame in their ability to fulfill God’s commands.
Yet in the New Covenant, Jesus lived in perfect accordance to the Law but became sin on the cross as a substitutionary atonement for the sin, shame and guilt of all men. Through Christ’s death, all those who believe are freed from the stain of sin and receive God’s favor by faith (Rom. 3:22).
Very few will receive the Medal of Honor for military service. But by faith, the honor that Christ won on the cross is awarded to all.