Where I grew up, everyone but my kind were naked. It didn't matter if you were religious, good, or bad, you were naked. Those exposed parts of the body that we so diligently cover in the west were not unlike ears or toes in that culture. Here you see me as a teenager wearing a blue shirt surrounded by naked people at a service. The woman with the bad perm is my mother (I love her dearly:) You must know that finding such a picture for western eyes wasn't easy--most images of my youth show so much more flesh.
Some would be so bigoted as to find offense in a picture like this, though I can't imagine that here. Still, the culture I grew up in was very different than the American culture, which in large part gives me that unique perspective some call twisted. Go figure.
Can you just imagine what America would look like if the whole country were naked for one day like my friends growing up were? I think terror would ensue. It certainly would not be inspiring. Clothing sales would surely double the next day.
I say all of this tongue in cheek, naturally, but it illustrates another truth. We humans are so good at dressing ourselves up. Let me tell you, underneath all of the layers, we all look very much the same. In terms of following rules and living clean well dressed lives, we are simply no better than any neighbor.
The difference between people is truly a matter of the heart, not the skin.
Do you judge or do you love? Will you touch the diseased for flee to save your skin?
One day it will be your heart, not your skin, that will be found naked. Is it a loving heart?
Considering this, who in this picture is truly naked?
a) The ones without clothes
b) The ones with clothes
c) None
Be heard
(for more on Ted Dekker check out www.teddekker.com)
