Feeling Naked | Psalm 11
The news came in between the Bible classes and worship hour yesterday. She had already told my wife the news, but she had to stop and tell me…
One of my Christian sisters, who has the misfortune of being the alphabetical first on my mobile phone’s list of numbers, smiled and said, “You called me yesterday morning,” I gulped with an aching feeling of what was about to hit me. “Yeah, I got to listen to you sing in your truck for about five minutes,” she said this time laughing. Red-faced, I played it off like the coolest thing to ever happen to me. Inside I felt naked.
I felt invaded. No privacy, no time to rock-out with just me and The Beatles. Now I don’t blame her, the poor unfortunate soul. I admit, the whole thing is rather funny, but I couldn’t suppress those nagging feelings of having been exposed—no mask, no social inhibition.
But I got to thinking. Is it a bad thing to let my church family see the real me—the one exposed and unhidden? God sees. “His eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men.” Shouldn’t one of my hopes be to see others and be seen by others as God sees?
The thought of being nude brings shame and fright to many because of what it signifies and makes known. Think nightmares of going to school in your underwear. It signifies undeniable vulnerability. It reveals and exposes those things we can easily cover up. It discloses the blemishes and the imperfections common to everyone though everyone doesn’t need to see. It puts us in a spot we don’t want to occupy—reality about who we are.
What I’m about to write shouldn’t be construed as an endorsement for a naturalist lifestyle. However, in a social, psychological and emotional sense disrobing ourselves could begin a revolution of spiritual healing and renewal that pulls God’s people closer together. Hopefully, instead of scaring off that brother and sister (she shared the saved voicemail with her husband), I exposed a cover-up and opened a new channel for relationship.
Who knows? Maybe I did scare them away, but it’s a start.
One of my Christian sisters, who has the misfortune of being the alphabetical first on my mobile phone’s list of numbers, smiled and said, “You called me yesterday morning,” I gulped with an aching feeling of what was about to hit me. “Yeah, I got to listen to you sing in your truck for about five minutes,” she said this time laughing. Red-faced, I played it off like the coolest thing to ever happen to me. Inside I felt naked.
I felt invaded. No privacy, no time to rock-out with just me and The Beatles. Now I don’t blame her, the poor unfortunate soul. I admit, the whole thing is rather funny, but I couldn’t suppress those nagging feelings of having been exposed—no mask, no social inhibition.
But I got to thinking. Is it a bad thing to let my church family see the real me—the one exposed and unhidden? God sees. “His eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men.” Shouldn’t one of my hopes be to see others and be seen by others as God sees?
The thought of being nude brings shame and fright to many because of what it signifies and makes known. Think nightmares of going to school in your underwear. It signifies undeniable vulnerability. It reveals and exposes those things we can easily cover up. It discloses the blemishes and the imperfections common to everyone though everyone doesn’t need to see. It puts us in a spot we don’t want to occupy—reality about who we are.
What I’m about to write shouldn’t be construed as an endorsement for a naturalist lifestyle. However, in a social, psychological and emotional sense disrobing ourselves could begin a revolution of spiritual healing and renewal that pulls God’s people closer together. Hopefully, instead of scaring off that brother and sister (she shared the saved voicemail with her husband), I exposed a cover-up and opened a new channel for relationship.
Who knows? Maybe I did scare them away, but it’s a start.
posted by Josh Linton at
9:25 AM
1 Comments:
The Beatles huh? I guess you could have been screening your coveted Leif Garrett collection again. I have been enjoying your thoughts.
Keep Smiling
Ron
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Anonymous, at 1/30/2007 3:20 PM
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