The trouble was, he was a man with a canker for a soul… It is wrong to believe that such men suffer in the conscience for what they do…it is only regret at being caught that troubles them. And they never admit it was any fault of their own…it was always chance, bad luck…. The criminal does not regret his crime, he only regrets failure.”
–Louis L’Amour (Lando)
“O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.”
–Psalm 5:4 (NLT)
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There are many things I surely do not understand. One of them is the use of profanity. First of all, it shows ignorance. A person does not have the vocabulary to correctly converse with others. He may try to cover his ignornace by cursing all the more. Second, it shows definitely a flaw in character. From the mouth proceeds the thoughts of the heart.
Last week, I saw on facebook the following, “How many times have you cussed before getting to work in the morning?” Now, this is not ignorance, but is close to mockery. I remember, a few years back, when there was a youth evangelist, speaking to students in chapel, and he used profanity. That is mocking the sacred desk of the pulpit. That is treading on dangerous ground, for he is to speak holy words, not profane words, especially in the hearing of young people. In fact, some of the leaders just sort of laughed it off instead of confronting the speaker.
Look at just a couple of verses.
“Let there be no filthiness (obscenity, indecency) nor foolish and sinful (silly and corrupt) talk, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting or becoming; but instead voice your thankfulness [to God].”
–Ephesians 5:4 (HCSB)
“Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.”
–Ephesians 4:29 (AMPC)
So, do you cuss, curse, use profane or obscene language? Are you crude in your jesting? If so, why? Notice, this type of talk should never come out of your mouth. The Christian should edify those with whom he is talking.
Back to the facebook post. The shame of what I read is that the person who posted it was one of my former students. One of those who commented was another. Both of them were smart-aleks in class. Guess they never grew up, however, it made me wonder, was there somewhere that I failed to live as Christ in front of them? What are the words of that old Sunday School song, “Be careful little lips what you say….”
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Ponder This: In reference to the above I would give you a little word study from the works of Rick Renner. One version of Ephesians 4:29, states, “Let no corrupt communication…” The word “corrupt” here means something that is putrid or rotten. It implies the smell of decomposing meat, or food that has rotted and was sickening.
Instead of spewing words of the world that stink, we should be a “wellspring of good words.” (Renner) Because of your speech, people should be improved by the words you speak.