Sirach 42:1-16: a reflection

1Don’t be ashamed of these things, and don’t sin to save face: 2of the law of the Most High and his covenant, of judgment to do justice to the ungodly, 3of reckoning with a partner and with travellers, of a gift from the inheritance of friends, 4of exactness of scales and weights, of getting much or little, 5of bargaining dealing with merchants, of frequent correction of children, and of making the back of an evil slave to bleed. 6A seal is good where an evil wife is. Where there are many hands, lock things up. 7Whatever you hand over, let it be by number and weight. In giving and receiving, let all be in writing. 8Don’t be ashamed to instruct the unwise and foolish, and one of extreme old age who contends with those who are young. So you will be well instructed indeed and approved in the sight of every living man. 9A daughter is a secret cause of wakefulness to a father. Care for her takes away sleep— in her youth, lest she pass the flower of her age; when she is married, lest she should be hated; 10in her virginity, lest she should be defiled and be with child in her father’s house; when she has a husband, lest she should transgress; and when she is married, lest she should be barren. 11Keep a strict watch over a headstrong daughter, lest she make you a laughingstock to your enemies, a byword in the city and notorious among the people, and shame you in public. 12Don’t gaze at every beautiful body. Don’t sit in the midst of women. 13For from garments comes a moth, and from a woman comes a woman’s wickedness. 14Better is the wickedness of a man than a pleasant woman, a woman who puts you to shame and disgrace. 15I will make mention now of the works of the Lord, and will declare the things that I have seen. The Lord’s works are in his words. 16The sun that gives light looks at all things. The Lord’s work is full of his glory.

Sirach gives a list of things not to be ashamed of, and the principle behind it is striking: do not sin to save face. There are things people are tempted to feel embarrassed about that they should not, upholding the law of God, doing justice, keeping honest scales and weights, dealing fairly. Do not be ashamed of these, Sirach says. And by implication, be ashamed instead of the things that are actually shameful: sin, dishonesty, injustice. Get your shame pointed in the right direction.

Notice the phrase: do not sin to save face. The temptation is real, to do something wrong, or fail to do something right, because doing the right thing would be awkward, embarrassing, or costly to our reputation. We can be ashamed of integrity, of honesty, of standing for what is right, because it makes us stand out or look rigid, and so we compromise to save face. Sirach names this exactly: do not sin to save face. Do not let embarrassment lead you into wrong.

That is a searching test of where our shame is aimed. We are often ashamed of the wrong things, of being honest when others cut corners, of doing justice when it is inconvenient, of standing for right when it costs us face, and unashamed of the compromises we make to fit in. Sirach calls us to reverse it: be unashamed of integrity, honesty, and doing right, and be ashamed instead of sin. Do not sin to save face. Let your shame be pointed at what is actually shameful, and never let embarrassment talk you into wrong.

Lord, Sirach warns me not to sin to save face, not to let embarrassment lead me into wrong. Point my shame in the right direction. Keep me from being ashamed of integrity, honesty, and doing right because they make me stand out, and from the compromises I make to fit in. Help me be unashamed of what is good and ashamed only of what is truly shameful, sin. Give me the courage to do right even when it costs me face.