Reflection for February 3, 2010

"Bring Back Blushing"

When I was in the eighth grade, a friend and I decided to go to a movie. This was not just any movie. This was a movie that everyone was talking about. It was a movie supposedly made for adults. If my memory serves me correctly, it was titled, “Baby Doll”, and the star was an actress named Carol Baker. Wouldn’t you know? I do not have clue who the male lead actor was. As we purchased our tickets we held our heads down in fear that someone that knew us might see us. It got worse when we entered the theater. It was full. As we sheepishly searched for a seat we could tell that we were the youngest ones in the theater. We finally sat down or maybe slid down into our seats.

Once the movie started I am sure that no one cared about us, but at the time we felt as if every set of eyes in the place was focused on us. After about twenty minutes, we could stand it no longer and we got up and left. We did not walk out because of some noble religious conviction but we walked out because we were embarrassed.

The point of this tale from the past is that the material in the movie, “Baby Doll”, would seem tame compared to the normal flow of material that pours into our living rooms every night by way of television. Young adolescents sit and watch far more graphic situations everyday on “MTV”. Every imaginable topic is discussed in detail on the many talk shows. These are not late night talk shows. They air every afternoon. Nothing seems to be taboo anymore. Behavior that would have been classified as deviant a few years ago is now often presented as being acceptable. The illustrations are too many to print but hopefully the point has been made that it takes a lot more to embarrass us today than it did in the past.

Many today would argue that the changes reflected in the two paragraphs above are good. We are now a more open society. We no longer must live under the horrible moral codes of the past. We now have a freedom to express ourselves. Those who are considered most admirable are those who continue to “push the envelope”. After all, these are the ones who help us to expand our consciousness and our ability to experience all types of new things.

The proponents of this philosophy refuse to admit the correlation between these changes in moral expectations with the epidemic of social problems that our nation faces. A general breakdown in respect for authority, the breakdown of the family, out of wedlock pregnancies, and an increase in sexually transmitted diseases are a few of the consequences of our new and expanding moral freedom.

The prophet Jeremiah addressed a similar situation in the ancient nation of Judah. He wrote, “Were they ashamed of the abomination they had done? They certainly were not ashamed, and they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time of their punishment they shall be brought down, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 8:12 NASB) My prayer for our nation is that it will learn how to blush once again. If it does not our direction will not change and at some point, contrary to what many teach today, God’s judgment will be unavoidable.