Unashamed: Naked

Typically, when we hear the word “naked,” we either gasp and blush, grow intrigued at the sensuality of the unclothed body, or recoil in shame.

But nakedness was originally the mark of humanity without shame. Fully vulnerable and yet free.

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Genesis 2:25

If you have had children or have been a caretaker for a precious little one, you may be familiar with their fascination with the hose—the garden hose, to be exact. Some of my favorite memories with my children were when they were between the ages of 6 months and two years. They would play in the yard, fully naked, amazed by the endless water flowing out of that rubber snake.

They were so free, so careless, and in such wonder as they would fill their mouths with the groundwater, spraying it back into the air. Giggling and looking back at me just to make sure I caught what just happened. With wide eyes and in utter amazement, they would splash about naked and free. Our summer months were full of these days when my four children were toddlers. The garden hose flowed, and every inch of their bodies felt the warm air and cool water. These babies were naked and without shame.

Although children know the experience of shame from very early in their development, based on their interactions with their primary caregivers, there is something about nakedness, especially nakedness and water, that draws out of them this Eden-like joy without a single worry. Whether it is the bath, the beach, or a garden hose, they seem so fully alive and free.

This was God’s original design for us as his children, and I often wonder if this unashamed nature of a toddler may be what Jesus was referring to when he said,

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:13

A toddler in a kiddie pool, naked and without shame, being looked upon by a gentle, kind, and patient mother, is a slice of that Kingdom.

But what is so incredible is that Adam and Eve weren’t toddlers. In a marital covenant, they were fully grown and physically mature, but with children's freedom. Interestingly, we know that marriage can be the most challenging relationship to feel free in. Current statistics show it is so difficult that nearly half of them fail. And that statistic is the same for those who profess to follow Jesus and know the Eden story.

This means Genesis 2:25 contains crucial and potentially transformative truths for all people, one that could save marriages and lives. Why did the author end humankind's creation account with the statement, "They were naked and felt no shame?"

Dr. Curt Thompson writes in his book, The Soul of Shame:

“The writer (of Genesis) has my attention. He could have chosen from an entire panoply of words or phrases to describe humankind’s emotional state at this point. He could have said the man and woman were naked and really happy (who wouldn’t be?), or they were naked and strong or confident, or they were naked and without fear or anger or sadness or disappointment or regret. And to be certain, all of these may have been true. With so many to choose from, why the emphasis on shame? It would seem that it is no accident.”

I don’t think the writer added this verse in the creation story because of the entrance of sin in Genesis 3 but as a signpost to the purpose and MO of sin and evil. Dr. Thompson concurs, as he goes on to say:

“Genesis 2:25 is not just a passing description of humankind before Genesis 3. It is drawing our attention to the emotional state fulcrum around which the history of sin rotates, the fundamental source, harbinger and herald of what is to come. I would suggest that the writer wants us to pay attention to shame not just because it happens to show up later but because of its central role in all that ends in a curse. It is the emotional feature out of which all that we call sin emerges. As such, in the biblical narrative, when we experience shame, we are not simply encountering one of an array of possible emotions; rather we are engaging evil in its most fundamental mode of operation.”

I could not agree more with Dr. Thompson.

And why this is so crucial for us to understand is because we have, for far too long, understood sin as the thing that taints us, makes us dirty, unclean, unworthy, separate, unlovable, and broken. I believe Genesis 2 reveals that from the creation of humankind, there was an enemy after our emotional world, which, as physically, mentally, and spiritually integrated beings, connected to one another, has devastating implications. It is anti-human and anti-Genesis 2:25 to reduce sin to bad behavior and the need for the penalty of death. The crux of Genesis 3, when sin entered, was to infuse humanity with shame and trust that the result would be hiding, blaming, violence, addiction, and overall harm to all creation. It is the shame of sin that disconnects us and kills our creative agency.

What is both amazing and heartbreaking is that because this is true, we often don’t have to point out the nakedness of ourselves and others.

We feel it. We know shame all too well. Rarely do we need someone to point out its source.

And I believe with all my heart that as we pray for the Kingdom to come now, we don’t have to wait until Jesus returns to experience the unashamed freedom of Eden. I believe Jesus began ushering in his Kingdom the moment he entered the womb of a woman who by Satan's standards, should have felt nothing but shame. The Divine Reversal of shame broke through the moment Mary said,

“May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Luke 1:38

He made us to be without shame, and wherever you are beloved, he looks on you as a mother looks upon that naked toddler. Regardless of how many times you relapsed, ran, or resisted, he longs for you to be without shame and in his loving presence.