Unmentionables

I heard a word the other day I hadn't heard in awhile.  When is the last time you heard someone refer to underwear as ‘unmentionables?’ If you did, it was probably said as a joke. But you know it hasn’t been that long since undergarments were considered to be ‘unmentionable.’ Of course the larger meaning of the word is anything that is inappropriate or improper to mention in polite conversation. But is there a common definition of “polite conversation?” When did TV advertisers start showing models of women’s (or men’s) underwear? It gets worse. Many formerly unmentionable subjects are common with advertisers pushing the limits of decency. And not only that, but what used to be called “foul” language is no longer. Even some pastors think it's OK to use crude language in the pulpit.  Is everyone pushing the limits?

How do we as Christians navigate our way through this crazy culture? Where do we draw the lines? Does the Bible have anything to say about what is and what is not ‘unmentionable?’ Yes, it does.

“Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them…and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks” (Eph. 4:29; 5:4). We can only wonder what David’s culture was like when he says “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD.” (Ps. 19:14)

“Should Christians Practice Yoga?”

Last week Yahoo's news division created a brouhaha when it published a blog post by Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, “Should Christians Practice Yoga?" Mohler wrote "the stretching and meditative discipline derived from Eastern religions is not a Christian pathway to God," dismissing the idea that "the body is a vehicle for reaching consciousness with the divine."

After the release of his article, Dr. Mohler said: I received hundreds of emails calling me insane, incompetent, stupid, vile, fundamentalist, and perverted—all from individuals claiming to be Christian, but offering no biblical argument for their view point… One comment came from a woman who had opened a Christian Yoga studio, saying: ‘what I found is that it opened my spirit.’ Another said ‘I get much more out of yoga and meditation than I ever get out of a sermon in church.’

These commenters, while sincere in their commitment to this physical and mental discipline practiced by Hindus, Buddhists and Jainists, seem to have no idea how unbiblical it is. Paul could have been speaking of the “discipline” of Yoga when he wrote: “You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world… These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires” (Col. 2:20, 23).

Please Be Quiet!

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer … Let my meditation be pleasing to You (Ps. 19:14; 104:34).

Almost 60 years ago, in his book “Pathways to Power,” Dr. Merrill Unger wrote:Meditation upon God’s Word is fast becoming a lost art among many Christian people. This holy exercise of pondering over the Word, chewing it as an animal chews its cud to get its sweetness and nutritive virtue into the heart and life, takes time… [And this] ill fits into the speed of our modern age. Today most Christians’ devotions are too hurried, their lives too rushed.

If that was true in the early fifties, how much more is it true today—in an age that has become faster than Unger could have imagined. Prayer and preoccupation are strange bed-fellows. Hurriedness and Holiness are incompatible. A deep knowledge of spiritual things can only come by the way of unhurried prayer and reflection upon the Word. The goal of our ‘quiet times’ is to internalize and personalize truth until it affects our thoughts, attitudes and actions.

Finding quiet time to meditate will not be easy as you attempt to pull away from the cacophony of modern media. But it is a much-needed Christian discipline. And as you reflect on God's Word during your quiet time, you will learn to recognize God's voice and really know Him.