It is something you hear every day. Either from your own mouth or from the mouth of someone around you.
A four letter word, or some other choice word, that is frowned upon in our society.
We see these words on TV, in movies and in songs. It has reached a point where we cannot avoid these words in our everyday life. This makes a tricky situation for Christians. It is hard for us to know where to fall. What words are OK for us to use? Which ones should be avoided?
This has been a particular struggle for me over the last four years of college. I met a wide variety of people who used all kinds of language. Some people were quite frequent swearers ,while others only used profane words from time to time to add emphasis. During my college years, I began to pick up and occasionally use some of these words in conversation with my classmates.
This opened up a struggle within myself that I am sure many Christians deal with. I decided this was something I would investigate in order to help Christians determine what is right for Christians to say, and how we should approach the topic.
There is no command in the Bible to not swear
In the Bible there is no verse that says, "do not swear."
However, there are verses that have other commands for our speech.
The most famous command about speech comes from the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." (ESV).
This verse is not talking about swear words, but saying phrases like "Oh My God," or "Jesus Christ." God commands against these phrases for one reason: He wants us to know the strength of His name.
The Israelites were so in awe at the name of God, they refused to write the full name and would not speak the name. When they wrote the name of God, Yahweh, they would only write "YHWH", or other abbreviations such as "YH". There are even more in the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts where the Israelites had to write the name of God. They also refused to destroy any document or artifact that had the name of God written on it.
Enter present day, and we see people using the Lord's name in vain everywhere. I hear it all the time and ,honestly, it upsets me more when someone uses His name in vain than swearing. The name of God is something that Christians should not use lightly.
The name of God is something we need to treat as sacred and not misuse.
There are questionable words in the Bible
Although the Bible does not have modern swear words, there are some words that are equivalent to modern day swear words.
In Matthew 12:34a Jesus say, "You brood of vipers!" (ESV).
Jesus is saying this to the Pharisees and is calling them children of snakes. There is a similar term we use, nowadays.
Just because Jesus says this, does not give us the freedom to drop swear words whenever we want. Jesus is angry at the Pharisees and adds this phrase to emphasize what he wanted to say. Jesus says something similar when he cleanses the temple.
Sometimes, a swear word is what we need to describe how we feel.
Another time in the Bible, Paul uses a word that has a modern equivalent.
This is in Philippians 3:8:
"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." (ESV)
The word "rubbish" is skubala which means, more than just rubbish. The word can be translated as excrement, waste, trash, etc. We have a modern equivalent of this word. Although this is a contested translation in the Bible. But the modern translation of the word would add the message Paul is trying to say. Paul is saying that everything he has gained by himself is human waste since he has gained Christ.
Swear words can be used to add a point or strength to a phrase. But that does not give us the liberty to drop swear words whenever we feel like.
The words we use say a lot about us. We need to be smart about the words we say and not speak idly or just talk to talk.
As Christians, I think what we need to see as most important is glorifying God with our words. Swear words can add to our message. I have even heard swear words used in sermons to send a message that would not be the same without it. Sometimes, we can say swear words because that is the best way to summarize the way we feel.
I believe that Christians can swear. But I do not think that Christians should cuss like a sailor. We should be smart about how we use them. We are called to live in this world, but to live above the way the world lives. We have been given an incredible gift of speech. We should be smart and choose what we say wisely.
Know who your audience is, and know what the people around you will think when they hear you say swear words.
