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 In
a college speech class, working on oral interpretations, a meek
mousy student fumbled through a rather robust passage, killing
the sense of the lines. The instructor blew her top. Jumping up
from her seat, she climbed atop her desk, threw her arms wide,
and shouted at the top of her voice. She scared the wits out of
all of us, but I suppose she made her point — no inhibitions!!
Turn
loose, let go, open up!! That was the teacher's favorite theme;
and perhaps it had its place in dramatic work. At that time I
thought it somewhat radical, but I could see that a certain
freedom from inhibitions was necessary in order to give free
flow to feelings in the interpretation of dramatic parts. Such
teaching may have encouraged my more casual approach in
preaching — to get next to people, right where they live.
But
this philosophy has gone far beyond interpretive reading. It
became a part of child psychology, and fostered the idea that
parents must not restrict their little darlings. Let them write
on the walls, kick the visitors, break the windows. But do not
scold or punish; do not say "No!" You may curtail
their free expression of themselves, and develop those nasty old
inhibitions. Tsk, Tsk!!
It
has become the justification(?) for the "new morality"
with "freedom" the pseudonym for obscenity. Will
Durant, the Historian, wrote: "Our ancestors played this
sexual impulse down, knowing that it was strong enough without
encouragement; we have blown it up with a thousand forms of
incitation, advertisement, emphasis and
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display, and have armed it with the
doctrine that inhibition is dangerous. Whereas inhibition —
the control of impulse — is the first principle of
civilization.
Inhibition,
"the control of impulse", is not only essential to
civilization, it is an essential part of Christianity. Respect
for authority external to man, calls for control of one's
impulses, subject to the divine will. Such control, developed to
the point that it practically becomes a part of one's character,
is little different from a conscience that is properly adjusted
(See 2PE.1:4-f).
"Reveling"
(GAL. 5:21; 1PE. 4:3) is the removal of restraints, and is a
work of the flesh. It is associated with and encouraged by
wasteful, luxurious living (See LUK. 15:13). We have so often
"translated" the word into "dancing" (and it
will include that) that we may have lost sight of many other
things covered by "reveling". Look up
"revel" "riot" "delicately"
"wanton" and other like words, in Vine's Expository
Dictionary of NT Words — and then decide the importance of
inhibitions in the Christian life.
There
are, of course, unjustified restraints, urged in the name of
religion. Fear of Hell may be developed out of proportion to
"the peace that passeth understanding;" sex may be
taken out of its God-approved place and made "dirty";
and such unwarranted "inhibitions" may adversely
affect one's life. But the "anything goes" philosophy
will damn our souls.
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