When we walk up on another person’s sin; there are only two options for us to choose from. We either cover their nakedness or spread their shame. Covering their nakedness means we confront them in love, encourage them, and...
“And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness,” (Genesis 9:20-23).
This is a very interesting story. There are many take-aways in this text. First of all, we could save ourselves and others a lot of embarrassment and trouble if we would simply stay away from alcoholic beverages. Noah created an opportunity for shame for himself and his family when he decided to get drunk.
The next thing I discovered in this text is the importance to honor others especially your father and mother even when they do things that don’t seem to be honorable (Ephesians 6:2). Noah’s son Ham made a bad decision. Instead of covering his father’s nakedness he decided to run off and tell his other brothers. Many of us have been in this situation before. When we walk up on another person’s sin; there are only two options for us to choose from. We either cover their nakedness or spread their shame. Covering their nakedness means we confront them in love, encourage them, and pray for them. Spreading their shame means we run to others and spread word of their mistakes.
Ham decided to spread his father’s shame while his brothers made the decision to cover Noah’s nakedness. Because of this, Ham and his descendants missed out on the blessings of God. This is why the Bible instructs us to “love people the way Jesus has loved us,” which is unconditionally. Jesus taught in Luke 6:31 for us to treat others the way we would want them to treat us. This is important because of the law of seed, time, and harvest. What we sow we will eventually reap.
Life and death, blessings and curses, is a decision we get to make every day. Jesus came to offer abundant and eternal life. Jesus came to reveal to us the way into God the Father's kingdom and how to receive His abundant supply of blessings. What we decide to do to others we create for ourselves (Ephesians 6:8). Because we have been forgiven much by God, we have the capacity to love much. We should use our words to bless only; since we have been blessed abundantly by God.
So, the next time you have to make the decision to either spread someone’s shame or cover their nakedness, choose wisely. God is love and those who have been born of God are creatures of love (1 John 4:8)!