“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.’ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.“- Genesis 4:6-8
Let’s revisit the story of Cain and Abel through the lens of the three societal platforms we’ve explored over the past few days.
As you know, this is the first recorded murder in history.
Abel brought an animal sacrifice to the Lord.
Then Cain brought a grain sacrifice.
The Lord accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s.
As a result, Cain killed Abel.
Why?
What was the cause of Cain’s hatred of Abel?
Theologians have been debating this for like forever.
However, there is no need for debate if you understand shame-and-honor-based societies.
Unfortunately, most Western theologians and academics are clueless when it comes to this topic.
The bottom line is Cain lost honor because Abel outdid his rearend.
This wasn’t just mere jealousy.
Cain had lost standing among his family when the Lord rejected his sacrifice.
Again, this is something that any homie reared in a shame-and-honor society would recognize instantly.
This is also why those raised in oriental cultures have the upper hand when understanding certain portions of Scripture.
If Abel had provided a way for Cain not to lose face, Abel would’ve saved his life.
Maybe he could’ve gone over to his downcast brother and told him…
“Man, it must be tough being rejected by the Lord like that.
That’s actually happened to me once.
Look, I have an extra sheep from my pen here.
Please take it and offer it to the Lord.
And make things right.
This will be just between you and me.”
Of course, I’ve just started to write a piece of fiction there.
But do you see what I mean?
In an honor-shame-based society, one who is shamed would rather die than live with the loss of honor.
Shame must be gotten rid of by any means possible.
And sometimes those means can involve murder, as we saw with Cain and Abel.
That’s what revenge is all about in the Middle East.
It’s a very real thing in Muslim societies today.
We read about it all the time in our newspapers.
Now, notice how I’m not talking about right versus wrong in my discussion here.
That’s really secondary to the point being made, even though it will go over the heads of most Westerners.
The bottom line is that revenge is taken to get rid of shame and restore honor.
And revenge often involves taking the life of the offender.
As a takeaway for today, if you do international business, think about how this applies to some difficult interactions you’ve had in the past.
Perhaps you lost a business deal or a potential client refused to do business with you, and you don’t know why.
A Western company might refuse to move ahead with a deal because the numbers don’t make sense in terms of strong profits.
However, a Japanese company is concerned with a heck of a lot more than just numbers on a balance sheet.
What would happen to my honor if this aggressive American company suddenly decides to withdraw from the market?
How will partnering with this company affect my standing and reputation?
Those are the types of questions swimming around in a Japanese executive’s head.
So those are some of the things to think about when engaged in international business or dealing with folks from other cultures.
If you’re American and you’re doing business with somebody from Asia or the Middle East, be cognizant of this shame and honor dynamic at play.
Ask yourself:
What can we do to ensure this potential partner not only maintains his honor but could increase his honor in his dealings with us?
A little awareness can go a long way.
Alrighty, let’s call that a wrap for today.
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