#nakedisstillsacred
Know ye not that your body is the temple of God? I Corinthians 6:19
Should it not be disturbing, perhaps unsettling, that expressions like ‘nude arts’, ‘nude beach’, ‘naked cycling’ and so on how become normalized in our millennial culture? Hollywood and its look alikes have desensitised and deconscientised the way view the sacrosanctity of naked bodies. Today’s ‘bare it all’ culture is making us lose the sacredness of our bodies.
Almost all the times reference is made to nakedness in the Bible, it is accompanied with connotations of shame, sin and deadly consequences. Of course, this is not how it was meant to be. Nakedness didn’t carry the baggage of shame from the very beginning (Genesis 2:15). It became an issue after Adam and Eve disobeyed God. We are told they felt ashamed when they realized they were naked (Genesis 3:7). Not too long after that, we hear the story of Ham, the son of Noah who ‘looked at’ and ‘mocked’ his father’s nakedness and, as a result, received an everlasting curse (Genesis 9:21-25). Also, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he found the Israelites naked and worshipping idols (Exodus 32:25). This last example makes me wonder if there is link with nakedness (in public) and idolatry or even madness.
Remember David? His life took a tragic turn after he looked upon a naked woman having her bath (2 Sam 11:2). There are so many examples of people who abused the sacredness of nakedness and the catastrophe that followed. Nakedness is not inherently a bad thing. It is a gift of God but it must not be manipulated, abused or fetishised. You may be wondering how all these apply to you since you don’t ‘reveal yourself’ unnecessarily. But do you voyeuristically look upon another person’s nakedness in films, music videos, real life or even in porn? Do you derive sensual pleasure from viewing another person’s body? Remember, David did not expose his nakedness, he BEHELD another person’s. Spiritual and moral values deplete whenever and wherever people carelessly/recklessly reveal themselves (Lamentations 1:8). In fact, studies reveal that cultures that protect the sacredness of nakedness have a strong sense of morality and enduring marriages.
There is a way you can call unnecessary attention to yourself and your body by the choice of clothes you wear. Exposing sensitive parts of your body, male or female, counts as nakedness (half-nudity). There are dresses that can make people ‘see through’ and ‘look through’ your body even when you are not unclad. There is also spiritual nakedness, a nakedness of the soul which equally breeds humiliation and shame. But thanks to God who provides physical and spiritual clothing for us in this fallen world(Genesis 3:21). He provides spiritual covering for all our humiliation and shame. He clothes us in His righteousness. Therefore, let us not frustrate the grace of God by exposing our bodies and souls indiscriminately. For the Lord is coming – ‘behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he walks naked and they see his shame’(Revelations 16:15).
De Vine 