Reputation is everything. If you come to China, you'll find that out. They call it "having face," and it's entrenched in the culture. The government does it, your neighbor does it, your twin sister does it. I'm reminded every time I ride into town. Crowning the heights above Yangqu, and prominent from the highway, is a temple. It is three stories of red grandeur -- an impressive pagoda. There's only one thing: it's a shell. There is nothing inside. It's merely a stage set. Apparently the country got a face lift for the Beijing Olympics, and backwater Yangqu wasn't overlooked. This would be like Milford erecting a 10 meter high George Washington statue if the Olympics came to Chicago.
At the people level, it's all about respect. They will never criticize you, and you better not criticize them. You also can't get angry. Life is very passive aggressive here.
This idea of face isn't completely foreign to Americans. Not at all. Take for instance Facebook. There you can manipulate your image ad nauseam (but remember to keep close surveillance on your wall and untag awkward pics). Then there are blogs -- the ultimate way to Photoshop your life. Plus on the street we have fashion, parlance, Starbucks and Macs. Image is everything. The difference is that Americans like to HAVE face, but few are careful to GIVE face to others.
(Aside: obviously I'm not completely against Facebook and blogs. They connect people, which is good.)
Does God have face? Yes. One theme running through the Old Testament is the Name of the Lord. God saves his people (and sometimes punishes) so that everyone will fear and glorify his Name. I recently read Daniel 9:15-19, which talks about this. It's in the New Testament too. I read Luke 11:5-13 the other day. There are probably better examples, but that's what came to mind.
Does God give face? Yes -- in Jesus. The perfect example of God giving us face.
I thought this was an apt post to include my picture. Notice that I chose a decent one.
