Taboos work as guardrails of our thoughts. Like guardrails that prevent errant drivers from going off the road, a proper sense of taboos can serve as mental guardrails, keeping us from destruction. For e.g. even in the heat of a fight, a wise couple will never even think of, let alone bring up, divorce as a possibility. That word became taboo the moment they got married.
A taboo–things too loathsome to even mention or think about–these are vital boundary markers defining the domains of a well-lived life. Such an idea sounds so quaint today. All around us taboos are regularly disdained. It’s considered artistic–cutting edge, sophisticated, bold or whatever other word they use–to depict all sorts of grotesque things that really should be veiled behind a taboo. For an entire generation reared on this kind of medium, the guardrails are entirely gone, and the thoughts and visual imaginings know no bounds.
The bible contains many exhortations for us to control our thoughts, to direct our thoughts heavenwards, to not sin in our thoughts, and be renewed in our minds. People often feel helpless regarding their thought life. Wrong thoughts seem to just enter our minds unbidden and unwelcome.
We need to reinstall the guardrails. “You are free to,… but you must not” applies not just in Eden, but in our own web surfing, media consumption, and imaginations. We need to heed the boundary markers, and respect the forbidden, until the taboos get reestablished once again.
Thank you for this dose of truth. I can’t help but think how in the beginning of summer you warned us about what kind of things we feed ourselves with. Like you said you may not always be able to control what comes to your mind but you do chose what you dwell on. Instead of feeling helpless I was challenged to cultivate a desire for God, for his word, to dwell on his character, on what he has done. truly i’m thankful for boundaries, its my responsibility to work on proper guardrails
so true!
in order to fight the pervasiveness of sin – preventative measures NEED to be taken – these would be those guardrails, making even the thought of dwelling upon whatever sin a taboo. i am reminded and challenged to seek protection beneath those taboos and within the guardrails that must be re-installed!
Thank you for these words of wisdom Pastor Ed. Establishing guardrails is something that I have control over and can implement in the face of what our culture defines as “normal” and “acceptable.”
Thanks for this post, Pastor Ed! This is so true, and modern psychology has bemoaned the boundary-less lifestyle that many people live today as being detrimental to mental health. Makes sense considering that we were fearfully and wonderfully designed to live within God’s boundaries.
Thanks for this post P. Ed. The ‘further-and-further’ stance of popular media and culture that you mention, seems to be received without any question by so many.
I remember when my own life’s motto was just that. I thought it was so chic. But instead, in retrospect my efforts to punch holes in the boundaries didn’t lead me to ‘liberation,’ but more to a place like the possessed Gerasene, who repeatedly broke his restraints and cried out, cutting himself with pottery shards, alone with no help in the mountains. Metaphorically (and also in some ways not) not too far from my life during that time. Thank God for the boundaries He has slowly been able to place back in my life. Much of which was thanks to the relationships I have at this church.
Also, isn’t it ironic that most people are willing to talk about almost anything and everything that used to be taboo, but what is considered “too much” are serious talks about religion, Christianity, and Jesus? There must be something devilish going on here with our understanding of what is “taboo.”
I completely agree about this odd, even demonic, reversal of taboos. I think especially in the modern generation, not only have we pulverized any authority the conscience once had, but we’ve build in it’s place an anti-conscience. Where we as a culture once had reservations about thoughts that defiled, we now have reservations about discouraging others from this. Where we as a culture once had reservations about risqué art and media, we now are uncontrollable fed it in the classroom. Where we were once encouraged to view life, people, and beauty in light of our God given conscience, we now are now encouraged to see with our fleshly eyes devoid of a conscience.
It is a scary age we live in.