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When Adam and Eve sinned, they were ashamed of their nakedness. Sin resulted in fear and hiding and a condemnation of their natural state. Adam and Eve\u2019s new found knowledge of good and evil brought them anxiety in their naked identity. On their own, they tried to cover their nakedness and not feel shame but they failed. Self-hatred begins.<\/p>\n
This explains, in part, why we struggle so much in the area of complete body acceptance. Our perceptions are distorted. Like Eve, we tend to listen to the voices all around us who don\u2019t have our best interests in mind. When we take matters into our own hands and try to deal with our distorted perceptions without God, shame and hiding keep us buying more products, taking unhealthy supplements to loose weight, make us willing to go under the knife for risky surgery and more. Shame also distorts the image in the mirror and says to us, \u201cYou are inadequate and don\u2019t measure up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The good news is that God sees us in our natural state, naked and all. He doesn\u2019t shame us. It\u2019s when we attempt to separate ourselves from God, to live life on our own terms that we feel shame and dislike our bodies. Just like Eve, we are lured away from God by opportunities to personally benefit, by focusing on appearance and by acting solo.<\/p>\n
When we try to deal with shame and self-hatred apart from God, we won\u2019t be successful. Our self-deception and self-will are too strong and distort our thinking and influence our behavior. Even if we don\u2019t recognize it, distortion is part of us.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, God pursued Adam and Eve in their naked state. Notice he didn\u2019t hide from them but pursued them. I love that about God. We are the ones in hiding, not He. When Adam and Eve were ashamed and trying to hide, they really needed God to take control. Someone bigger had to intervene. And that\u2019s just what happened before they were sent out of the garden to deal with a fallen world. God had them discard the fig leaves and made tunics of skin to clothes them. This is important, not because it was a fashion shift but because of the significance of God clothing them instead of them clothing themselves.<\/p>\n
When God clothed them, it\u2019s wasn\u2019t because of shame. It was a covering of protection. Forget the ineffective fig leaves. They were man and woman\u2019s attempt to solve their shame on their own. Skins had significance. They required the shedding of blood. God offered the first blood sacrifice to save Adam and Eve from spiritual death. \u00a0What an incredible provision and foreshadowing of our need for a personal Savior to keep us from destroying ourselves through our own propensity to hide from God and solve our problems on our own.<\/p>\n
When sin entered the picture, Adam and Eve needed a new covering that would calm anxiety and deal with their newfound insecurities. God\u2019s provision to correct our fallen state began. Our designer is capable of covering our distorted perceptions with truth. He does not condemn us or our bodies. He offers grace and love.<\/p>\n
We\u00a0must acknowledge our nakedness before God. Then we must decide who will be allowed to cover us? Our own efforts, spoken words from family members, cultural images\u2014all of which can keep us hiding with feelings of shame and insecurity? Or will we let God\u2019s truth speak to us and listen? Will we let it heal us?<\/p>\n
Allowed God to clothe you\u00a0in his righteousness and truth. Stand naked before him and experience his love that will heal shame.\u00a0We have a spiritual heritage that makes brings truth to our body, soul and spirit. It\u2019s our choice to stand alone, naked and ashamed or with God\u2019s help, move into body acceptance and learn to accept the beauty of His design.<\/p>\n
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Adapted from Dr. Mintle\u2019s book, Making Peace with Your Thighs<\/em>\u00a0(Thomas Nelson)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Adam and Eve sinned, they were ashamed of their nakedness. Sin resulted in fear and hiding and a condemnation of their natural state. Adam and Eve\u2019s new found knowledge of good and evil brought them anxiety in their naked identity. On their own, they tried to cover their nakedness and not feel shame but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[916],"tags":[2179,85,3603,2729],"class_list":["post-8539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god-relationship","tag-body-acceptance","tag-body-image","tag-nakedness","tag-shame"],"yoast_head":"\n