Shame is not just embarrassment. In biblical terminology, shame is brought on by a failure to meet social expectations in terms of power (including wealth), status (or belonging to the wrong group), beauty, or intrinsic value. Nations and individuals both strive for honor and seek to avoid shame. Even when we follow God as best as we can, we can still fall short in these areas. That is the experience represented in Psalm 44.

The good news is that, because of Jesus, God brings honor—the opposite of shame—in these same areas. 

1. Power. We become inheritors of God’s own honor (Ephesians 1:18) and we receive his power (Acts 1:8). But this new power is not to lord over other people, it’s meant to allow us to participate in bringing about God’s Kingdom.
2. Status. We are adopted as sons and daughters of the King of kings (Romans 8:14-15). As a sign of being part of God’s family, we feast with him every week in Holy Communion!
3. Beauty. Peter tells us in his letter that the work of the Holy Spirit in us actually makes us beautiful to God, regardless of whether or not our bodies meet current cultural standards (1 Peter 3:11). 
4. Value. And of course, if Christ died for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8) and we bear the very image of God (Genesis 9:6), then there should be no doubt that we are in fact precious to God.

So, another aspect of our being saved is that we no longer have to strive for honor as the world understands it. Freed from the pressure to bring honor to ourselves or our family, we can focus on God’s commandments: to love God with all we have; to love our neighbors as ourselves; and to make disciples wherever we go.