“But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

-James, the brother of Jesus

“It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

-Jesus of Nazareth

One.

In a company that houses twenty employees, there is only one. Half of those employees profess The Christ. The other half are “Agreeing Christians”, or those that simply agree that Jesus walked the earth and understand the purpose behind Christmas. There is no relationship beyond that. My ears have caught conversations of those that profess speak The Gospel to customers. I have seen one driven to tears speaking of His blessings. Another talks about Him all day long. But they all have one thing in common. Their words are bathed in filth all the day long. With the exception of one. Me.

The question is this: Should Christians Curse? Or, better put, “cuss”?

“Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”- Ephesians 5:4.

One would say that such a question is a ridiculous notion and to put it forth is a waste of valuable words and time. Unfortunately, however, it is a leprosy that is infecting The Church. Spreading from one misguided Believer to the next. Sadly, in many cases, there is a growing defense for it. I once posted on Fascistbook that it was a great disservice to God to hear the coworker that speaks of Him all day drop “f-bombs” in between His Holy Name. Someone chimed in, proposing the thought that cursing is no longer what it once was. It has become the acceptable norm. Ultimately he concluded by asking (and I paraphrase) “What is ‘cursing’”?

The idea that floods the veins of the church is that if something that was once considered “taboo” by society becomes acceptable, then it is no longer “taboo”. This permeates through the pews and the pulpit in modern Christianity. Foul language is the norm of the day in both media and in the real world. A conversation in the public square typically looks like this (WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE):

“Hey man, how you —— doin’?”

“Man I’m —— fine.”

“What the —— you got planned today?”

“——- I thought I’d kick my —— feet back and play some —— Xbox. I ain’t doin’ ——“

“—— that!”

“——- yeah!”

“——-!”

“——-!”

Not just are such conversations absurd, but the curse words serve no purpose outside of being useless and idle. They enhance nothing outside of offense to ears that actually have a sense of moral standards. They are just fillers. 

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”- Ephesians 4:29.

Why are these words offensive? Not just the two big four letter words, but all curse words. Many lived in the original state until the hands of man had manipulated it with distortion. For example, the “f-bomb” originally meant in another tongue “to strike”. Of course its spelling was different in its younger days. Eventually it took on the meaning for “sexual intercourse” and other filthy meanings and purposes. Now it no longer has meaning as it is commonly thrown into the mix of words without a purpose. It’s modern use and meaning is seldom a preservative for the conversation and lacks such decor that even sensible parents will not allow their children to compromise innocence by uttering such trash. 

Further evidence that there is something wrong about it.

Because our hedonistic and secular societies have peeled away the offense from these words, thus leaving them common, does that mean that they should be in the common vernacular of The Way? The answer is NO. When our post Christ world accepted The Alternative, did it become acceptable to God? When our churchless nations began to spill The Blood of The Innocence, did that make it void of repercussion in The Father’s eyes? When our godless cities began to re-embrace The Division, did that please The Holy One? Because the world strips away and redefines offense does not make it commendable before God. He defines purity. He defines holiness. He does not bow to us.

“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”- Colossians 3:8.

These idle words have been created and defined by man. Those that once were not considered vulgar were distorted back into an offensive shape to the point that one would blush if it was uttered. But its use, and abuse, is what redefined it. There is a stark contrast between using a word in place of “donkey” and telling someone to “kiss it”. However, like all sin, words are the creation of man. Murder, hate, violence, slander, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, drunkenness, drug abuse. All at one point in time were first committed by one. Cain did what?

But what is the reason why those of The Way should not express themselves in this way? Is it to make them a bore? A person of lesser interest among colleagues? No. It is because the cloak that we are to adorn ourselves with is that of Holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16). Our actions and language are to be representative of not just the Purity of Christ, but representative of rebirth. A death to a heart born from the world and a life given to one birthed from The Son. We cannot represent Faith, Salvation, Repentance, and Regeneration, which are the key elements to the Gospel, if we borrow our words from a broken unregenerate world (Hebrews 12:14). We will show them that there is no difference between our yesterday and our today.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”- Romans 12:1-2.

Because man defaced common words, and created new profane ones, does not give him the ability to take back its damage. This applies to acts as well. The common curse words, whether it began with innocent intent or malicious means, still have a filthy reputation. The “f-word” still wallows in its own cess just as much as “b**ch” drowns in mire. None of these words mean anything Nobel. They are never used in a context that can enrich conversations. The only reason that they have become acceptable in a fallen world is because The Unredeemed have become numb to its meaning. Now they fill the space between meaningful language as one that catches their breath.

The Messiah said that it is what proceeds from our lips that defiles us. If we profess to be His then it defiles Him as well. If our words dance with cursing then it is an issue of the heart (Matthew 15:18). If we do such things without flinching and are willing to defend our doing so, then our hearts do not beat in sync with His. We need to be upon our knees, praying for the shedding of such rot. The Unredeemed live in The Gray and know no different. The Redeem live in Black and White.

They should know better.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

-Paul the Apostle, to the Church at Philippi