Made for Community - Hidden

by Michelle

The last verse of Genesis chapter two describes an ideal world and harmonious community. Yet, only one verse later, this all falls apart. You may be familiar with the story – a serpent entices Eve to eat fruit from a tree that God had specifically forbidden, Adam stands idly by, Adam and Eve eat the fruit, and their eyes are opened. After Adam and Eve’s eyes are opened, they react in two ways. One of their reactions is typical, in light of the circumstances, and the other is not so. The first thing Adam and Eve do is clothe themselves. Then, when they hear God coming towards them, they hide. Clothing. Hiding.

It is not unusual for a child to hide when they are in trouble. Even more, it is not uncommon for an adult to hide when they have committed a crime. The hiding is obvious. Adam and Eve had done something wrong and wanted to avoid any consequences. I think we can all relate to that on some level. Whether it is a full kitchen trashcan or rear-ending another car, not many people look forward to dealing with the consequences of smelling the rotting food or paying to repair the other car. It’s easier to hide.

What about the ‘clothing’? I don’t know many people who do something wrong and then put on a sweater to feel better. If only it were that easy, I probably would have tons of sweaters! Wouldn’t we all!? To understand why they clothed themselves before they hid, we have to look at what the serpent told them. The serpent said, “…when you eat of [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (3:5). What the serpent told them was half true. Their eyes were opened. However, rather than having infinite knowledge and wisdom (like God), they saw their nakedness.

In chapter two of Genesis, nudity is essentially a good thing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting we all join nudist colonies. Physical nudity is not necessarily desirable, but transparency is very much so. Imagine not having to hide your own mistakes or wonder who has wronged you. And not having to consider who is a ‘swan’ or ‘shark’ (see my first blog), such clarity would be refreshing to say the least. Yet, Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened and innocence was lost. Without openness and transparency, Adam and Eve hid. I would argue this still continues today. We simply are not innocent and we respond by hiding, concealing everything from shame to anger to hurt to arrogance to greed. We are all too good at hiding.