Liberating people to act for good. The uncomfortable situation of experiencing shame marks the critical point of human freedom, where one can shape their own character or shift shame into guilt—a shift that often leads to violence, but does not have to be chosen. Biblical wisdom theology provides guidance on how to handle this key situation. The resulting mild optimistic anthropology leaves behind the alien concept of sin and has significant consequences in the ethics of various fields: here, practices of dis-shaming become possible, helping to avoid both hasty demonizations and the emergence of power and violence spirals. Intellectually and linguistically stimulating, this preventive ethics makes it clear: we can change our lives. A new approach to Protestant ethics.