Genesis 2:25
The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Genesis 3:7-11
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Before the Fall there was an innocence about our sexuality and our bodies. We are told that they were naked and not ashamed. But after the Fall shame comes. The serpent was right about their eyes being opened (verse 3:5) but they were opened to sin not to holiness. This is what sin does to us, it changes how we view things. A person caught in pornography looks at people differently from a person who has a pure heart. So Adam and Eve's bodies, which were designed to be beautiful, are now shameful and something to hide. Notice the parallel between the Fall and our own experience with sin: after the sin comes feelings of shame and a desire to hide the sin, to pretend it didn't happen. Research on the sex addiction cycle shows how after acting out we feel shame, which is uncomfortable so we act out again to try and escape the pain, thus getting caught in a cycle of sin and shame. To break that cycle we need to be honest and admit our sin and receive God's grace. But unfortunately like Adam and Eve we often try to hide instead.
Lord, I do feel shame about my sexuality and my sin, and I confess to trying to hide my "secret sin" from You. Please help me to deal appropriately with my shame. I need Your acceptance to overcome my insecurity.
The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Genesis 3:7-11
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Before the Fall there was an innocence about our sexuality and our bodies. We are told that they were naked and not ashamed. But after the Fall shame comes. The serpent was right about their eyes being opened (verse 3:5) but they were opened to sin not to holiness. This is what sin does to us, it changes how we view things. A person caught in pornography looks at people differently from a person who has a pure heart. So Adam and Eve's bodies, which were designed to be beautiful, are now shameful and something to hide. Notice the parallel between the Fall and our own experience with sin: after the sin comes feelings of shame and a desire to hide the sin, to pretend it didn't happen. Research on the sex addiction cycle shows how after acting out we feel shame, which is uncomfortable so we act out again to try and escape the pain, thus getting caught in a cycle of sin and shame. To break that cycle we need to be honest and admit our sin and receive God's grace. But unfortunately like Adam and Eve we often try to hide instead.
Lord, I do feel shame about my sexuality and my sin, and I confess to trying to hide my "secret sin" from You. Please help me to deal appropriately with my shame. I need Your acceptance to overcome my insecurity.