Before I Get Naked

It amazes me how men and women take their precious time finding the right person to style their hair, where they buy their homes, or what jobs they take, but choose anybody to occupy their hearts.
The reality is you have to guard your heart as you do your social security number, and that is with CAREFUL protection! We all probably know at least one person who has planned their entire life with someone who they’ve only met for five minutes. They have unloaded their entire life on someone who they haven’t known for a solid twenty-four hours. In essence, they have become completely naked with a stranger.
 
When I say NAKED, I use the term in context of transparency. There is an episode on a TV comedy from the 90’s called the Fresh Prince of Bellaire. An actress by the name of Tisha Campbell was a guest star playing Kathleen that Will Smith dated. They were stuck in the basement because of an earthquake until help arrived. As they waited, Kathleen took her weave out, pulled her press-on nails off, and removed her colored contact lenses.
Will Smith had the hardest time accepting that the superficially attractive woman he had met originally did not seem to be the lady in the basement he was stuck with. While this episode still makes me laugh today, the sad truth is that we have become experts at making ourselves up to appeal “perfect” in hopes to possibly catch a perfect mate.
The problem is, you will soon find out that the mate you portrayed to be perfect for is just as imperfect as you are!
 
So, do you spill your guts out up front or shut down like a city power outage during the dating and courting stages of a relationship? Neither are healthy choices, but the best responses are GRACE and HONESTY.
While dating, grace says, “You are not perfect, but I’m willing to watch and help you grow!” Honesty says, “I am graceful because I know that I’m not perfect either, and I could use some help!”
One of the scariest things you will do while building a relationship is to be completely open and honest with each other. It is a vulnerable space for most. They will see you during your ups or downs, highs and lows, losses and victories.
In the book of Judges, chapter sixteen, I took notes from Samson who laid his strength in the lap of the wrong woman. Samson fell in love with a woman by the name of Delilah who conspired against him by discovering his weakness and giving him over to his enemies.
So before you get “naked” with another person, be certain it is with someone who is committed to building a future and protecting it with you. When the time comes where you meet your potential spouse, you should be sure that you are ready to take on the “Naked” beauty of discovering them.