In an article from a publication called The
Atlantic which was also circulated by Yahoo News, Jacob Beckert, the
author of the piece shared his first experience with what is called a
gender-neutral locker room. He explained
that after getting off work, he went into a locker room to change his clothes
for a game called racquet ball and as he began to casually take off his shirt,
he was stopped and told that he could no longer do that there as it turned out
that the locker room which, I assume, was once a men’s locker room, was
transformed into a gender neutral locker room that both men and women could
use. The locker room was outfitted with
some private stalls to which he was pointed in which he could change.
In a single sex locker room, be it a men’s
or women’s locker room, it would be expected to see someone of your gender
casually change their clothing in front of you, but in a locker room that both
men and women can use, you have to be more modest; hence the reason for the
installation of private stalls in which to change your clothes and while the
enforcement of modesty in such situations may be a good thing, Beckert believes
that if we are not exposed to some casual nudity, we may become less
comfortable with our own bodies than we already are:
Without exposure to the normal variety of
bodies, we may become less comfortable with our own, more likely to mistake
common characteristics for flaws…[1]
No matter how much exposure to nudity that
there is, there will always be a shame, humiliation, and embarrassment when our
nakedness is exposed before others, except with an intimate partner, even if seeing
nakedness on occasion is regarded as a natural fact of life, and it is a shame
that goes back all the way to the garden of Eden when, after eating of the
forbidden fruit---that is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil--- (Gen. 2:16-17) the first man Adam and the first woman Eve who was
Adam’s wife felt a shame in their nakedness that they did not see prior to the
eating of that forbidden fruit.
Before the eating of that fruit, they felt
no shame in their nakedness as their nakedness was not the undignified form
that nakedness is today but after they had eaten of the forbidden fruit, their
bodies turned from that which was dignified to that which fills us with a shame
that we do not want others to look upon and it was this shame that caused Adam
and Eve, after eating the fruit forbidden to them, to attempt to hide their
shame from the eyes of the Lord (Gen. 3:7) and it is due to this shame that we feel
that clothes cover us.
Clothing was not simply invented to
protect us from the harsh elements of nature, but to hide the shame we feel in
our nakedness as our nakedness is not something that we want anyone, except an
intimate partner to see and it is the one of many things that separate us from
animals.
When God had created mankind, He never
created our bodies to be a form of embarrassment or a thing to be ashamed of
and no shame initially came with our forms but when Adam and Eve ate the fruit
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil after having been told not to,
that is when the shame of their nakedness came upon them because when they ate
of that forbidden fruit, it was not just their inward person that was changed,
their bodies were changed as well. We
cannot imagine what the pre-fall body of man would have looked like. We only know the bodies of the post-fallen
condition and we know that our bodies are not as they should be because if our
bodies were what they should be, we would have no reason to hide our nakedness
from each other or be embarrassed by what we look like.
Not being exposed to nudity would not make
us less comfortable with our bodies than we already are because we are already
born with an instinct for modesty but when there is a lack of modesty, it is
due to societal and cultural conditioning which causes the modesty instinct
within us to become suppressed and in such cases, nudity becomes acceptable and
even normalized.
But if there is no sense of shame
concerning our nakedness except in the presence of an intimate partner, then what
do we have a sense of shame about? If
exposure to nudity becomes normalized, might it be a sign and evidence of the
moral conscience of society becoming weakened and even, as the scriptures state
“seared as with a hot iron?” (1 Tim. 4:2)
In a morally upright society, such scenes
should be very limited and kept in the privacy of the home and places where nakedness
is seen only by a spouse an no one else.
We should feel no shame about our nakedness in the presence of a spouse
and neither should they feel shame about their nakedness being exposed to us as
we should be the only ones to whom they expose themselves and vice versa and to
no one else and if there is another reason why nudity should not be normalized
beyond the four walls of a private setting between two spouses, it is due to
the sensual temptations or erotic feelings that can and do arise within us
especially when we are being exposed to the nakedness of the opposite gender
which is why lewdness and pornography need to be condemned and rejected and not
commended because when lewdness and nudity are put on public display, it can
invite sexual temptation which then can lead to immoral and promiscuous
relations condemned in scripture but those who see no problem with lewdness and
even participate in pornography and other sexually arousing and explicit
activity are going to be held just as accountable before God for the harm that
they have done through their behavior as those who consume the sexually
explicit and pornographic material they have produced and for the feelings of
lust that they arouse be it through a deliberate attempt to do so or by way of
indifference for as it is written, woe to the world for offenses but woe to the
one through whom the offense comes (Mt. 18:7)
It is a clear warning to all and
especially to those of us in Christ to ensure that our activities and our
behavior, including how we dress, the entertainment we produce, and the content
that we publish, even on social media, are not a source of temptation but instead
are respectable, honorable, a positive influence, and is pleasing in the eyes
of our Creator and a day is coming when that which is imperfect will be
transformed into that which is perfect (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) and
in that day there will be nothing to be ashamed of as things will be just the
way that God had intended for them to be in the beginning when He had first
created the world which He had intended to be a place of goodness filled with
life, life, happiness, peace, and contentment and in which no shame, suffering,
evil, death, decay or sin had yet existed and in that world existed a perfect and
uninterrupted harmony between God, man, and nature until the day that Adam and
Eve had eaten of a fruit from a certain a tree called the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil after having been warned of God that in the day that they ate the
fruit of that tree, they would surely die. (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3)
It was the only fruit and thing that was withheld
and forbidden from them but when they disobeyed that one command, the
consequences of that transgression were astronomically catastrophic and universal;
even beyond our own comprehension for when they ate of that forbidden fruit, it
was then that sin had entered into them and brought upon them a sense of shame
about themselves that they had before felt, but the consequences of their
transgression went beyond just the shame of their nakedness. When sin entered into them, it inwardly twisted
them into something that God never intended for them or the rest of mankind to,
for God had intended for mankind to be intrinsically and inherently good, but sin,
upon entering into Adam and Eve, made them inherently evil by corrupting their
inward being which resulted in the sentence of death being pronounced upon them
as they had been warned (Gen. 3:19) to which they had eventually succumbed but
the consequences of their disobedience did not stop with them as they were
extended to the rest of mankind which is the reason why we are all inherently
sinful and inwardly corrupt by nature since we are all descended from them
(Rom. 5:12) and it is this inward corruption of our nature that causes us to
sin and sin is the reason why we all die, for as it is written, the wages of
sin is death, (Rom. 6:23) but the consequences of sin did not stop with mankind
but extended to all of creation as well, for as it is written that the entire
creation groans and travails in pain to this day (Rom. 8:19-22) which is the
reason for the death, suffering, evil, darkness, and misery that we see and
experience in this world and is the reason why nothing in our world, including
our own bodies, is the way it should be and worst of all, the sin that entered
into Adam and Eve upon their eating of the forbidden fruit and was then passed
down to the rest of us has caused a separation and an estrangement between us
and our Maker which, without sin, would not exist and it is due to the increase
of sin and wickedness that this present world will face eventual judgment for
though the Lord God Almighty has patiently born with the evil present within
this world, He cannot allow it to continue forever and must eventually
eliminate all sin and that means eliminating all who are still in their sin
when that day comes and any who remain in their sins have nothing to look
forward to but an eternity of everlasting judgment filled with an unrelenting
torment in the fires and darkness of Hell itself but because the Lord God is
not a God who desires or takes pleasure in punishment or judgment, but is a God
of love and mercy, and is not willing that any should perish in their sins and
face eternal damnation, (2 Pet. 3:9) but that all would come to repentance, and
therefore has done for us what we could never do for ourselves in that He, in
His graciousness has purchased redemption on our behalf in Christ Jesus, His
only begotten Son, (Jn. 3:16) who came to us in the flesh, (Jn. 1:14) and being
without any sin (2 Cor. 5:21) was made that perfect sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27)
that was needed to take away the sins of the world and because of His perfect
goodness, He was able to offer Himself up on our behalf to satisfy the demanded
penalty for all sin and granting mercy and grace through the shedding of His
blood on the cross and after having died, rose again from the dead three days
later that we might be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) if we will but call upon
His name so that we might be saved from what would otherwise be a terrifying
everlasting punishment if we will but call upon His name (Rom. 10:9, 13) and
believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9) for it is
by calling upon His name in sincere repentance that salvation is granted and
our souls made clean from sin thereby liberating us from the threat of eternal
damnation and with that cleansing comes a new spiritual transformation (2 Cor.
5:17) that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly
pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven,
to no longer take pleasure in those things
that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is
good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of
this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty who
is the source of all truth, (Jn. 14:6)
no longer placing our hopes in the things
of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to
come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources,
men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and
provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that
the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are
but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the
skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision
are provided and instilled in us by God, (Mt. 6:25-33)
to no longer fear what men can do to us,
but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account
for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible
institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God
who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our
lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His
Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our
lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the
glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men,
but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those
men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and
servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with
the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the
world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, (Jas. 1:5)
nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice,
but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
And it is this new inward transformation
that reconciles us to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) from whom we had once been
estranged and just as our souls are cleansed from sin and our spirits
regenerated in Christ Jesus thereby liberating us from the eternal tormenting
punishment that must come upon all who remain in their sins, so one day we look
forward to the liberation of our bodies from death itself when our mortal and
corruptible forms are transformed into that which is immortal and incorruptible
and from that which is imperfect to that which is perfect (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1
Thess. 4:13-18) and lastly, creation itself will be delivered from the curse
placed upon it because of sin when it is made into a new and better world (Rev.
21-22)
If you have not done so already and are
feeling shame in your life, then I urge you reader to call upon the name of
Jesus today for the forgiveness of sins as He is able to remove all sin and
shame away from you and grant you peace and assurance about your eternity. It is but a simple and sincere prayer of
repentance away.
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with the
words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your
heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of
your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing
else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
End notes:
1.
Jacob Beckert, “The End of Naked Locker Rooms,” The Atlantic syndicated
by Yahoo, November 14, 2025
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/end-naked-locker-rooms-123000564.html?utm_source=pushly&ncid=pushly
Scripture references:
1.
Genesis 2:16-17
2.
Genesis 3:7
3.
1 Timothy 4:2
4. Matthew
18:7
5.
1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
6.
Genesis 2:16-17, 3:3
7.
Genesis 3:19
8.
Romans 5:12
9.
Romans 6:23
10.
Romans 8:19-22
11.
2 Peter 3:9
12.
John 3:16
13.
John 1:14
14.
2 Corinthians 5:21
15.
Hebrews 7:26-27
16.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17.
John 14:6
18.
Revelation 21-22
19.
Matthew 6:25-33
20.
Matthew 10:28
21.
James 1:5
22. 2 Corinthians 5:18
23. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55
24. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
For those who like my work and wish to make a financial donation, you can donate to Contender’s Edge at:
Ko-fi
No comments:
Post a Comment