“#@$%!” Admit it, you know what that means.
I’ve never been prone to profanity. Perhaps because I had the privilege of growing up in a home where it simply was not part of the lexicon. Moreover, as a follower of the Lord Jesus, I draw a personal line on certain behavior. (Remaining ever grateful for God’s grace.)
If you are alive and breathing, you hear spicy language. Profanity is profuse. Turn on your TV. As a kid, I remember my parents fidgeting upon hearing the rare “H” or “D” word. Today, it barely elicits notice. Hollywood aggressively upped the ante, and lowered the bar. We now call the gutter home.
Listen to today’s high schoolers. Then again, don’t. Drive past a golf course with your window down. You’ll hear more than an occasional “Fore!” Watch sports as do I, and beware of open microphones. NFL Quarterback Tom Brady, remarking about his own use of colorful language, called his preferred imprecation “a wonderful word”. Speaking of open mic’s, our two most recent Vice Presidents of these United States in hallowed halls of Government uttered explicit expletives. Inappropriate…no, shameful.
Recently, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti intentionally and publicly dropped a strategic “F” bomb …and was lustily cheered. Commenting on said event, Columnist Dennis Prager suitably noted, “If nothing is holy; everything is profane.” The inverse likewise, proves true.
Even some Christian Pastors, generally sporting three days stubble, spiky hair, faded jeans with shirt tail strategically dangling, revert to crude jargon in veiled attempts to shed pastoral stereotypes and be considered cool and relevant. (I know, I sound geriatric and old-fashioned. Yeah, so is Penicillin….)
Enough of my rant: let’s think biblically. The issue is not the words themselves, but the attitude behind them. Jesus instructed: “It is not what goes into a man (food or drink) that defiles, but what comes out.” He honed the point, “Out of the mouth, the heart speaks.” Language reveals personal values, and respect, or lack thereof.
The Apostle Paul overtly addressed the issue of vulgarity when he penned: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth…” To Ephesian believers he admonished, “…there should be no obscenity, foolish talk or course jesting, which are out of place.” He turned positive In Colossians 4:6 advising, “let your conversation always be full of grace…”
To assist in determining the flavor of your personal discourse, permit me to offer some practical governing questions:
- Do I represent myself with decorum and dignity?
- Does this elevate or lower society?
- Can anyone be negatively affected by this use of language?
- If I use these same lips to testify to Christ, does my language dampen my testimony?
- If my mother heard me, would she wash my mouth out with soap?