Naked People In the Bible! What to Do?

Did you know that the mentions of naked people in the Bible actually have deep spiritual impact? True story! Let’s take a look at one of those mentions today and see what we can glean from it!

Here’s today’s passage where naked people are mentioned in the Bible:

“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:15-17 NKJV).

This passage speaks to me every day. Here’s why:

How many times do we see a need and assume someone else will meet it?

Unless you already spend your life pouring yourself and your resources out to help others every day, then there are times when we all see a need and assume someone else will meet it. But seeing a need and assuming someone else will meet it is the very DEFINITION of saying, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled.”

And the Word of God tells us that ignoring someone else’s need is FAKE FAITH. And since Christianity is, by its very essence, FAITH, then ignoring someone else’s need is fake Christianity.

Ouch.

This offends some people and frustrates others.

It offends some people because it forces us to be humble, and to acknowledge that our resources are not our own–and that we must distribute them as the Lord sees fit, not as we see fit.

It frustrates others sometimes because the flesh sometimes gets what I call “giving fatigue.”

Look at this email I received from a precious, sweet, kind, generous partner yesterday, in which she described her “giving fatigue”:

“Hey Jamie.

God spoke direct to me in your words here. OUCH! All I could think of was whenever we ourselves are in NEED (my car is gone now, Lord, etc …) and then we read of things like the pastors need this and that it can GRATE on our nerves.

BUT, because you came through with this message immediately following your petition – MAN did it hit the bullseye! POW! People making FUN of YOU! I didn’t make fun of you as much as I just got TIRED of hearing about WHO ELSE needs this and that. IT’S NOT FUNNY! Please forgive me. This email SPEAKS VOLUMES! It shows how INFANTILE and SELFISH we are and we are supposed to be THE PEOPLE OF GOD whom HE LOVES! GULP!

Please find my gift!

Love you heaps.”

She was responding to an email I sent out describing how, sometimes, people make fun of me for my faith, especially for others in need. (Like, how we’re building parsonages for local church pastors in need, and like how I feel like we could buy a vehicle for a specific local pastor in extreme need TODAY.)

But this Scripture that we already mentioned continuously compels me:

“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:15-17).

And I know we get tired of giving sometimes. But, Jesus said, “whatsoever you have done to the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me.”

The good news is that God will always reimburse you for anything you have done to help others with a need.

Proverbs 19:17 says this:

“He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given” (Proverbs 19:17 NKJV).

And who is counted as “the poor”? Anyone who has less than you, even if only at that moment.

When you give something to help the poor–and again, “the poor” are defined as anyone who has less than you at that moment–then God will always pay back whatever you have given. And He will always pay back MORE, for you have given Him a LOAN (“lends to the Lord”), and He pays back VERY good interest rates. 🙂

The good news is also that helping the poor is one of the biggest keys in the Bible to walking in an open Heaven financially.

Why do I say that? Because of Matthew 5:7:

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NKJV).

Jesus told us that we would be blessed if we are merciful. Additionally, He told us that we would obtain mercy–again, if we are merciful.

Friend, do you need mercy today?

For example:

• Do you need mercy from a friend or spouse who is mad at you?
• Do you need mercy in a disciplinary action against you at work?
• Do you need mercy from God, for Him to answer your prayer swiftly and give you the breakthrough you desire?
• Do you need mercy from God for His miraculous provision?

Then you have to be merciful.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

And when you choose to sow mercy into others, God sends His mercy back onto your own head. When you give to the poor, you LEND to the Lord, and He will pay back what you have given.

In the Christian walk, there are no cross-free days.

Jesus said:

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26 NKJV).

There’s never a day on this Christ-following journey in which we can “take a pass” from obeying God today.

There’s never a day when we can say, “Not today, Jesus. I helped the poor last week and I will help the poor again sometime, but I am frustrated with helping the poor and I don’t want to do so today.”

No, we don’t get a pass from obeying God. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

I know we can get tired of giving, or tired of helping the poor, or tired of obeying God sometimes. But Jesus’ words still remain:

“‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’” (Matthew 25:40b NKJV).

That’s the bad news: There are no cross-free days.

Taking up our cross and following Jesus is an everyday thing. Obeying God “today,” even in ways we don’t feel like obeying today, is an everyday thing.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NKJV).

And here’s the clincher–a verse that has been “cleaning my clock” this morning, personally:

“Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38 NKJV).

Friend, sometimes I step out in faith, but then stop to wonder if I really should push through.

I start something in a big burst of faith, but then get worried, nervous, or scared sometimes about pushing through in faith to finish. Why? Several reasons:

• Perhaps that thing is going to require a personal sacrifice.
• Perhaps people are going to give me a hard time or make fun of me for it.
• Or, most often, I’m afraid of what some of the people around me who don’t walk in the same level of faith will say.

But the Lord really “took me to the woodshed” this morning about this Scripture. Simply put, God’s soul has no pleasure in us if we begin something by faith and then draw back from it.

Ouch.

So there are no cross-free days … and no “put it in reverse” days, either.

Once we begin something, we must go on. When we start something in faith, we have to push through to finish it … also by faith.

Wow.

Help me, Jesus. Help us all.

So this brings us back to the original question:

Naked people in the Bible! What to do?

And the answer is: When you see the naked, clothe him. As it says in Isaiah 58:6-7:

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6-7 NKJV, emphasis mine).

What do we do when we see naked people? We clothe them. And yes, that means even people who aren’t literally naked–but who have less than we do at that moment.

What do we do when we see someone who needs a vehicle? We work together to get them one. Even if we still need a vehicle ourselves.

What do we do when we see someone who is hungry? We share our bread (“bread” = money) to feed and help them.

This is the fast that Jesus has chosen. And if any man would come after Him, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him.

Even when we’re tired of following today.

Even when we’re tired of giving today.

Even when we’re frustrated today.

There are no cross-free days on the Christian walk. And naked people are in the Bible so that they won’t be in our lives–because we are supposed to clothe them.

May the grace of God rest upon you to hear this word and act upon it for the rest of your life, in Jesus’ name. And may the Lord bless you and be merciful to you as you also are merciful to others, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ our Savior.

Did this word speak to you today? Is the Lord dealing with your heart about being merciful and giving to the poor? If so, leave a comment below!