Why We Wear Clothes

I have been reading again. Same book as before (look below) by Donald Miller. Y'know, I've been told that this book in particular kinda sucked, but I really like it so far. It's not so much enjoyable as it is informative and thought-provoking, which is why, I think, I've heard such things.

Simply put, I think a lot of people don't enjoy having their minds prodded, or something that requires thinking for pleasure. They just want gratification. Instant gratification.

Anyway, back to topic. This time, I've been thinking about some questions Miller poses and answers from his ideas; I've also been formulating my own questions and specificly-aimed thoughts, but those are on a one-to-one basis, and I will therefore not place them within this blog. (but you can ask if you think you're someone I think about)

The first question is this: why do we, as humans, wear clothes?
It's quite a good question, really. We're the only animal species who wears clothes. Nudist colonies have proven that they aren't required for survival (also the Garden. duh), so why? Many people's answers will boil down ultimately to shame:

"Because we're naked." Why does that matter?
"Because it's gross to be naked." Says who?
"I dunno. It's just frowned upon." But why is it frowned upon?
"Because it's shameful." Ah...

Something of that sort, yeah?

So where did this feeling of shame come from? Miller argues that it comes from what he dubs the "lifeboat effect" that was created after the Fall in Genesis 3.

Basically, this lifeboat effect is the human phenomenon of comparison to one another. All the negative feelings and emotions can be derived from this idea: jealousy, pride, hate, racism, you name it. It makes sense, too. If nobody were to compare themselves to someone else, there would be nothing to define jealousy, pride, hatred, etc. All of these negative things stem from the very important fact that we are ever-comparing people.

So why do we do this? Why are we "in the lifeboat"? Miller answers this one pretty simply, too. We, as humans, are validated by some outside source. Oustide meaning not from within our selves, but from some other-ness. If you aren't Christian, this might seem like a load of bull, but if you are, Miller's alluding to (and eventually mentions) that God is who/what is meant to validate us.

Adam and Eve were validated when they were in the Garden: "The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." (Gen. 2:25). Why? Why did they feel no shame? Because God validated them. His glory was without bounds, and flowed freely within and among the couple. Only when they created the separation (Sin) did they feel ashamed of their nakedness.

This is going to seem like a huge leap, but bear with me. After contemplating all that whole "God's glory defines us" thing, I slowly started moving on through the book and my mind. The next thing that I wanted to digest fully is the concept of being liked.

This goes again back to that comparison principle. I'm almost 100% sure that every cognitive-capable human being has a will and desire to be liked, loved, wanted, needed, etc. Why is that? God, in the Garden, had given Adam and Eve that otherworldly love that required nothing more than God Himself. After that flow was severed, the need was still there, only what once was given to humanity (perfect love) had left quite a hole to fill that no human (imperfect) love ever can fill.

So we've established that everybody wants this feeling of being wanted/needed/loved/liked/what-have-you. Now, if you applied that principle to what in all we do as humans - and I do mean EVERYTHING we do - the whole thing starts to sort of make sense.

Here's an example of my life: I like to write. I specifically like to write lyrics and poetry and deep-thought works. I'm giving my secret away here, but here goes. I claim that I write for no one but myself and God. That's somewhat true. But if you look further into both claims, you'll see that when I say I write for myself, I write so I can feel validated by what others think of my work. When I say I write for God, I am writing in hopes that God will read what I write and bless me for it, hopefully with validation.

Does that make sense? It should.

Anyway, after contemplating all this stuff, my mind moved towards marriage - mostly for two reasons. The first being that I just wrote a paper on marriage and finances earlier today, and the second being that I'm apparently obsessed with the idea of romantic-type love. So yeah, now that you know I'm a lunatic, let's continue.

Why do we have marriage? This question is a bit more difficult to tackle, and Miller never mentioned this, or an answer of any sort, so I have no real starting point. The only thing I can think of is the need for validation and definition. After all, after you get married, everything changes. You're no longer Ms. Stevenson, you're Mrs. Rogers (no real-life comparison intended). As a guy, you're no longer single and a virgin; you are a taken man who's experienced sex (which evidently is a huge thing for men - not so much nowadays, but in the past I guess it was).

True, God made Eve as a companion for Adam, but notice that they were not married. Nowhere in the creation story does it say that Adam and Eve were married, at least not before the fall. Why is that? Was there a need for marriage before Sin was introduced? I don't think so. I think that, despite the fact that I'm sure the couple loved one another (Adam was blown away by the beauty of Eve, etc. etc. - I'll touch on this before I close this entry), they had no need for a formal institution of marriage. They could have sex, procreate, enjoy each other, and cohabitate because God made it perfect that way. It's like there was an unspoken bond between the two. There was no room for infidelity, and no desire would have even existed for such a thing in the first place.

Which is why I think there is no such thing as marriage in Heaven. I struggled with that idea for a LOOOOONG time. I always wondered, "what's the point in getting married and making these 'forever vows' if, once you reach true life, you're no longer together?" Well, I think I disproved my own thinking. Here's my belief now. I believe that there will be no marriage in Heaven. But that is because there will be no need. I believe our spouses will still be our "lovers", but the institution and formality of marriage will be stripped away, because God will be there, in all His glory, to form once again that unspoken bond of unity.

Pretty deep stuff, man. Oh, and one last thought, jumping back up a few paragraphs.

Why do we value beauty as a point system for human worth?

That's just something for you to chew on and spit back your results to me. I'd really like to hear them!


Thanks for tuning in, folks. Join me next time my mind decides to wander!

~@