Everyone of us has words that we reserve for only the most intense situations. And this is not a bad thing. For some people, the normal George Carlin list of “7 words you can’t say on television” is it.
There are people who regularly utilize those 7 words but almost all of us have atleast a couple words that are too intense for us to use regularly. There are others who consider words like “darn” to be so close to words like “damn” that they won’t use the pseudo-swears.
I’m sure you know all this… but my thinking is this: the debate isn’t really about swearing vs not swearing. Pretty much all of us have words we’d never use, words we’re comfortable using, and words somewhere in the middle that we reserve for intense situations. Words are only just sound combinations, there is nothing inherently wrong with them.
However, as followers of Christ there is a whole nother wrinkle in this. My understanding of scripture is this: we shouldn’t pose stumbling blocks to siblings in Christ, we shouldn’t say words which take our own minds down avenues that they shouldn’t go, and an important aspect of evangelism is understanding who we are speaking to.
There are some people that my choice to use certain words might interfere (probably in a small way) to there coming to Christ.
On the other hand, if Christians had been more real with me and talked more like “real” people, if they had in fact chosen words that I actually use, I think I personally would have come to Christ sooner.
By the way, was it me who swore? I know we spoke yesterday and I was rather stressed out, so it seems like a possibility.
Gracias for the link Jenn. BTW, Still waiting to hear from you about the Transformation project. And Jeff, excellent thoughts as always you big @#%^*(
No, it wasn’t you who swore.
Of course swearing is wrong. It’s right there in the Bible. Matthew 5:34-37 says “But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” That seems pretty clear cut to me.
Oh wait, you meant swearing as in swear words. Ah #@%^%. Never mind.
I think swearing is a reflection of what’s in your heart. Christianity is more about the state of your heart, and how closely it mirrors Christ’s, than about proscribing certain words. But since what’s in your heart comes out your mouth, if your heart is filled with hate, frustration, and anger that we express with swear words, then that’s what’s going to come out of your mouth. It sounds trite, but I think it’s true; certainly in my experience, the times I’m inclined to use profanity are times my heart is least attuned to God’s Spirit.
Then, too, there’s the impression you give if people know you’re a Christian and hear you using foul language all the time. It simply isn’t a good witness to display that kind of offensive spirit, even if it’s your normal habit. It makes other Christians look bad, and certainly will garner you a few strange looks, if not making non-believers think twice about this whole Christianity thing.
Here’s my last year’s take on swearing. But actually, I think it’s pretty close to this year’s take on swearing, too.
I mean . . . HERE’S my last year’s take on swearing:
http://jennw2ns.blogspot.com/2007/02/i-swear.html
Everyone of us has words that we reserve for only the most intense situations. And this is not a bad thing. For some people, the normal George Carlin list of “7 words you can’t say on television” is it.
There are people who regularly utilize those 7 words but almost all of us have atleast a couple words that are too intense for us to use regularly. There are others who consider words like “darn” to be so close to words like “damn” that they won’t use the pseudo-swears.
I’m sure you know all this… but my thinking is this: the debate isn’t really about swearing vs not swearing. Pretty much all of us have words we’d never use, words we’re comfortable using, and words somewhere in the middle that we reserve for intense situations. Words are only just sound combinations, there is nothing inherently wrong with them.
However, as followers of Christ there is a whole nother wrinkle in this. My understanding of scripture is this: we shouldn’t pose stumbling blocks to siblings in Christ, we shouldn’t say words which take our own minds down avenues that they shouldn’t go, and an important aspect of evangelism is understanding who we are speaking to.
There are some people that my choice to use certain words might interfere (probably in a small way) to there coming to Christ.
On the other hand, if Christians had been more real with me and talked more like “real” people, if they had in fact chosen words that I actually use, I think I personally would have come to Christ sooner.
By the way, was it me who swore? I know we spoke yesterday and I was rather stressed out, so it seems like a possibility.
Gracias for the link Jenn. BTW, Still waiting to hear from you about the Transformation project. And Jeff, excellent thoughts as always you big @#%^*(
No, it wasn’t you who swore.
Of course swearing is wrong. It’s right there in the Bible. Matthew 5:34-37 says “But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” That seems pretty clear cut to me.
Oh wait, you meant swearing as in swear words. Ah #@%^%. Never mind.
I think swearing is a reflection of what’s in your heart. Christianity is more about the state of your heart, and how closely it mirrors Christ’s, than about proscribing certain words. But since what’s in your heart comes out your mouth, if your heart is filled with hate, frustration, and anger that we express with swear words, then that’s what’s going to come out of your mouth. It sounds trite, but I think it’s true; certainly in my experience, the times I’m inclined to use profanity are times my heart is least attuned to God’s Spirit.
Then, too, there’s the impression you give if people know you’re a Christian and hear you using foul language all the time. It simply isn’t a good witness to display that kind of offensive spirit, even if it’s your normal habit. It makes other Christians look bad, and certainly will garner you a few strange looks, if not making non-believers think twice about this whole Christianity thing.