Nakedness

#1767

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)

                                           

            The older I get the less I understand WHY, with only one life to live the way sane people will let their body go, knowing full well that what they put in their throat, their nutrition, determines their health... even their ability to fight disease. Incrementally, in my lifetime everything just gets worst. When I was a student, 70 years ago, cancer and diabetes were rare diseases. Today one half of the population have cancer and almost the same percentage have diabetes.

            This world traveler can tell you, without fear of contradiction, that there is only one nation in the world with so many obese-overweight people. Americans have a love affair with food, one in ten Americans say they spend 300$ a week on food.

            In one of my office buildings, one group of psychologists, fourteen rooms, a group specializing in eating disorders. When I was in practice, a patient talking to me about going on a diet, I would say, "There is only one effective diet. You must start eating each meal each day, for one week, with four other fat people. All of you eating your meal naked." There is nothing as ugly as a naked-flabby-fat individual. This is the reason clothing is so important, but I want to speak about nakedness.

            The earliest report of nakedness is found in scripture, when Moses and the three million children of Israel arrived at Mt. Sinai. Moses went up the mountain to converse with God, to receive the commandments. When he came down the mountain, those he had rescued from Egyptian bondage, were dancing around a gold calf naked.

            Nakedness has always been associated with sin, in every dark "strip joint," you will find nudity, even some beaches on haven islands. When this writer arrived on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, I put on my swimming trunks and went down to the hotel swimming pool. Everyone around the pool, except me, was naked. It is when you see nude ugly people, you'll appreciate clothing.

            I was sitting on the front porch of my beach house, on the ocean, with friends... one lady said to me, "Tom, I'm glad you cant see. There is a young girl in a bikini coming down the street and she seems to be eight months pregnant." Just the thought of such a sight, the thought of the disrespect to others at the beach, young children, her baby, I went into my house and vomited into my kitchen sink.

            And yet, our not thinking-concerned-committed church goers, even Christians, even in America... not showing the nakedness of themselves in their unconcern for what is happening to our nation... to the world.

            Think of the unequivocal evil, the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot in a cage, in Syria. Closer to home, think of the evil involved in planned parent hood, "chopped up" innocent babies... selling tissue and body parts.

            My seminary professors son told me that recently he was asked to speak at a large Texas church, located in a county seat. He said the church, which would seat hundreds, only had a small plump of about 20 people there just on one side of the building. Their church had died and these remaining old members did not seem to realize it, unconcerned that there was no young people in the church. Unconcerned about the great commission. In Shakespeare's "Hamlet"... "to thine own self be true." (Act 1) Generally speaking, everyday of my life, we lose ground. Only about ten percent of the population are interested in changing things: most of us hiding behind a shell of deceit, not even realizing the controls media, government, political correction, envy for popularity and acceptance, has on our life.

            We know about corruption, we just want to blame the wrong corrupter. "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil." (Psalm 97:10)