Profanity: Why God Cares About the Words You Use

The ability to use words is a superpower.

Your superpower.

You might not think of it that way, especially since nearly everyone can use words. They show up in writing, in speaking, in sign language and in everything from musicals to billboards. They are everywhere.

You couldn’t. Not in any meaningful way, at least. You’d be trapped in your own little world, and so would everyone else.

And that, right there, is exactly what makes words so special: with words, we can connect worlds.

A case for cussing

From time to time, you will run across arguments making the case for profanity. According to these arguments, vulgar words play an invaluable—even essential—role in communication.

Maybe you’ve heard those arguments too. They can be extremely convincing, and I’ll admit there have been times when I’ve stopped to wonder if maybe some of those points have some merit.

Words, after all, aren’t objective truths. They’re collections of letters and sounds we’ve assembled over the years to identify and catalogue objects and concepts. What Spanish speakers call a gallo, we English speakers call a rooster, for example. It’s not that one group is right or wrong—we just use different phonetics to refer to the same thing.

Profanity operates on the same principle. If someone starts cussing in, say, Russian, I’m probably not going to be offended because I’m probably not going to have any idea what they are saying. But if the same person lets loose the same string of expletives in English, I’m going to get extremely uncomfortable. Why?

Because, societally, words only have the power we give them.

(The obvious exception here is God’s name. The Third Commandment forbids taking God’s name in vain in Exodus 20:7. The Christian Standard Bible translates this instruction as, “Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God.” Calling unholy things holy, using God’s name in meaningless exclamations—these things are always off-limits, regardless of what society says.)

Choosing a lens

But, with the exception of using God’s name in vain, a word is generally offensive when we, culturally, decide that it is.

In the 17th century, occupy was a terribly vulgar word in Middle English. Today, it isn’t. Other words have experienced the opposite effect, transitioning from completely acceptable to extremely offensive. The only real factor determining whether a given string of syllables is vulgar or acceptable is the way society looks at it.

There are two directions we can run with this piece of information. The first is to say, “Okay, words are only what we make them, therefore no words are inherently off-limits.” From there, it’s easy to make a case for vulgarity as a means of catching people off guard, shocking them, grabbing their attention, galvanizing them and even stirring them to action. If words are superpowers, then a well-timed expletive is really just a way to enhance those powers.

The other approach requires us to take a look at profanity through the lens of Scripture—and when we do that, we end up with a totally different conclusion. If words are superpowers, then the Bible tells us that profanity should be viewed as kryptonite.

Words that aren’t fitting

It’s true that words only have the meaning we give them, but it doesn’t change the fact that words have meaning. A particular word might only be offensive because of the connotation society gives it, but that doesn’t make the word any less offensive.  

Words are the bridges we build to connect worlds—and the Bible tells us that the quality of those bridges matters.

Words are the bridges we build to connect worlds—and the Bible tells us that the quality of those bridges matters. Here’s what God inspired the apostle Paul to write regarding language: “You yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). In the same epistle, he added, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt” (4:6).

In another epistle, Paul reminded the Church, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers . . . Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice . . . But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks” (Ephesians 4:29, 31; 5:3-4).

Filthy language. Corrupt words. Evil speaking. Foolish talking. Coarse jesting. The Bible is clear: there are some things that just aren’t fitting for a Christian to say. The reason has little to do with how the words themselves became filthy—and everything to do with our hearts.

Words reflect the heart

Jesus warned, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:34-37).

If we make a point of using crass, vulgar words—whether for shock value or simply to add emphasis—what does this say about our character?

Being a Christian requires acknowledging that God has placed some things off-limits—things that degrade us, harm us or make us less than we should be.

Vulgar language is one of those things. If our words reflect the heart, and if our goal is to develop godly character—to pursue righteousness and purity—how can we justify using words whose only real function is to insult, shock and offend?

Words fitly spoken

Paul wrote about using words to edify, or build each other up. The book of Proverbs compares “a word fitly spoken” to the beautiful craftsmanship of “apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11), and describes “a word spoken in due season” as a source of joy and goodness (Proverbs 15:23).

Even when our words may prove painful and hard to hear (Proverbs 27:6), our goal should be edification—the building up and support of those around us.  

Your words are your superpower. You have the opportunity to provide others with “what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Or you can settle for filthiness, foolish talking and coarse jesting, “which are not fitting.”

Either way, you’re connecting worlds.

Make sure you’re connecting the right ones.

Photo credit:
ajr_images/istock via Getty Images

Date Posted: July 6, 2016