How To Overcome Your Fear of Being Naked In Public
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. - Genesis 2:25
Did it ever cross your mind that we're supposed to be naked? I mean the Bible is pretty clear, it says "they were naked and not ashamed". The creation account is packed full of images that all contain much deeper meanings; man's naked form is no exception. As the account of Adam and Eve develops we notice that man goes from naked and not ashamed to:
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
- Genesis 3:10
One can’t help but notice the critical role man’s nakedness plays as the creation account unfolds. So what is the significance of all this nakedness? Man’s naked form seems to symbolize a state of security; an inherent knowledge of God’s designs. Think about it this way, what would it take for you to show up to work tomorrow naked? I know what you’re thinking, a miracle right? To show up completely naked, you would want to know some things first. You’d want to know the purpose for doing such a strange thing. You would want to know what the consequences would be. In short, you’d have to have the confidence that can only come from a full knowledge of the outcome before you actually took action. Nakedness symbolizes a natural inclination of certainty. Man possessed the ability to discern any and every situation and proceed confidently without out having to ponder the outcome. That is precisely the problem we face; we cannot manufacture a confidence that meets the inherent need to be completely sure that is better or equal to God’s design. Once Adam falls, he is forced to rely upon his own acquired knowledge and awareness of his surroundings to reassure himself and to comfort his new insecurity. He no longer has the confidence to act without hesitation; he is covering his nakedness, ashamed of what God has made him and afraid. With all of that floating around in your head, let's apply this to Peter in the moments that follow immediately after Jesus is taken captive:
Peter began to curse and swear, "I don't know that man!" Right then a rooster crowed, and Peter remembered that Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will say three times that you don't know me." Then Peter went out and cried hard. - Matthew 26:74-75
Peter had just recently told Jesus that he would never betray him, he sounded so confident; so sure of himself. How did he get here to this place of uncertainly; swearing and denying Jesus publicly, not once but three times? He had heard Jesus say things like:
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. - Luke 9:26
Just like Adam and Eve, Peter was covering himself, not with fig leaves but by denying his association with Christ. He was ashamed publicly of what Jesus had made him.
Picture yourself today arriving to your job completely naked with no shame. Though you do not have knowledge of the outcome, you have the confidence of one who does. This is what faith looks like and without it the Bible says, it is impossible to please God. It is God who has made you who you are; the successes and your failures. We have a tendency to hide the parts of our life that we are ashamed of; not realizing that those are the parts that glorify God the most.
Lastly, don't go to work naked tomorrow, instead go with the mind of Christ, who in the blinded eyes of men was a failure:
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. - John 3:20-21
Created about 2 years ago
