The Genesis story highlights the shame that stems from the sin of rejecting God and his rule. Adam and Eve hid from themselves, each other, and the Lord God. And they did so by perverting God’s creation. God had caused all kinds of trees to grow, “trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food” (Genesis 2:9). But instead of receiving these good gifts and thanking the generous giver, Adam and Eve took God’s gifts and twisted them to their own uses. They sewed together fig leaves and made themselves “coverings” (Genesis 3:7). This word “coverings” refers to a loincloth, which covers the bare minimum. Then when God called out to them, they used the trees that were intended for their enjoyment to hide.
Adam was explicit about his emotions and rationale: “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10). He hid because he was naked and afraid. Shame is associated with four common fears that cause us to hide like Adam: fears of exposure, rejection, failure, and pain.
Four Shame-Based Fears That Make Us Hide from God
Exposure
The first is the fear of exposure. The root of many fears is that when we are really honest with ourselves, we realize that there are a lot of things we really do not like about ourselves. Hopefully there are things we do like about ourselves, but there are also things of which we are ashamed. And we are afraid that if anyone else could see our true selves, then they also would not like us. They would make fun of us and reject us.
This is especially acute in the era of social media, where we have to carefully curate our lives and where the smallest mistake can go viral and destroy your life. A thoughtless comment can end up defining you and your life for a long time. That leads right into our next fear, the fear of rejection.
Rejection
We fear that exposure inevitably results in being rejected. If people see the real me, then they will not want anything to do with me. If people find out about my mistake, then they will cancel me. That is why we try to cover up our faults with looking good and doing good deeds, hoping that people will respect us and accept us. For if we are exposed, then people will reject us.
Failure
We also fear failure. The fear of failure actually comes both to those who fail and to those who succeed. People tend to think that you only fear failure when you fail all the time. But actually, it is often highly successful people who fear failure the most, because they have the most to lose. The more you succeed, the more you feel like you have to keep succeeding. When someone succeeds a lot, their self-worth can get caught up in their success, and they fear that they will lose everything if they fail. Any failure would reveal them to be the impostor they fear is their true self.
Pain
A fourth fear is of pain. Many of us hide because we are running away from the pain in our past. Experiences of war or of abuse, whether physical or emotional or sexual—or all of them combined. We are afraid to face the pain, sometimes because we believe that it was our fault somehow. Sometimes we are afraid because the pain is just so great, and it feels overwhelming and permanent. We reason that nothing can change the past, and so there is no point in talking about it. We just need to move forward.
There are more fears that could be articulated, but the negative effects of shame are the same: isolation from God and others. Our thoughts and feelings bring us down:
- Nobody in the world knows the real me.
- Sometimes I’m not even sure who the real me is.
- There are things in my life that I have never dared to tell anyone else.
- I’m afraid of letting people get too close to me.
- I’m disappointed in myself.
- My life of regrets is no better than I deserve.
We can choose to hide ourselves from others and live our lives in fear. It is possible but definitely not ideal.
God offers mercy, redemption, and freedom in Christ
Instead of abandoning Adam and Eve to shame and utter humiliation, God showed mercy. Adam and Eve feared that God would strip them, expose the shame of their nakedness, and lay them bare in their misery. God did indeed take away their fig leaves—but not for the reason they feared. God removed their loincloths—but not to leave them naked. He provided them better garments.
What is illustrated in Genesis 3 is spelled out in Galatians 3:26-27: “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” We deserve to live naked and ashamed, exposed and expelled. Instead of having our status diminished, we are clothed in Christ and freed to stand before God’s “glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (Jude 24). We are made free through our status with God, to be free from unhealthy shame, in order to be free to be unashamed.
God is inviting us to stand firm in the freedom for which Christ has set us free. Together, we can learn to revel in the truth that God does not punish us as we deserve. God consistently rescues and restores us: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high” (Leviticus 26:13).
Consider your morning routine of getting dressed. Whether you spend a long time contemplating your closet or you tend to grab whatever is closest to you, use the process as a cue to remind yourself of the glorious truth that you have been clothed with Christ. As you put on whatever shirt you choose, thank God that he loves you and has made you his child. Pray that he will enable you to walk with head held high. You can use this sample prayer, or write your own:
God, as I put on my physical clothes, help me to know that you have clothed me with Christ. Free me from the agony of shame. Convince me that you have broken the bars of my yoke of slavery, and help me to walk with my head held high. You have covered me and made me your beloved child. Show me how to stand firm in your freedom. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Adapted from Shame Redeemed by Toni Kim. © 2026 by Toni Huang Kim. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press. www.ivpress.com.
Toni Kim
Toni Kim is director of spiritual care at the National Association of Evangelicals. Previously, she served over 20 years as a pastor in Vancouver and Boston. Toni is the author of Shame Redeemed: Learning to Live in Christ’s Freedom.
