Profanity—What is It?
The Bible says: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45).
Swearing is a very prevalent, evil practice in society. It adversely affects our relationship with God and our fellow man. The use of profanity is associated with speech that is not sacred or holy, irreverent toward God and man, showing contempt for holy things, and blasphemy. In Exodus 20:7 we read, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
Often there is ignorance involved in the use of profanity, especially in children. This habit that is formed in youth can last a lifetime and is very difficult to break. In James 3:6 we read: “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”
The meaning of some curse words is that God should curse instead of forgive, put in prison instead of set free, cast away instead of deliver. They also infer that God should use his power to punish instead of bless or have mercy. Should someone be deprived of all happiness of both body and soul in this world, and in eternity shut out of heaven and cast into hell? The horrible condemnation man can pronounce upon himself is indescribable when one is sold to and under the control of Satan. When God opens our eyes to what has overtaken us, it becomes abhorrent. Jesus said that “Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:22).
The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:4 to the professing Christian: “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.” The tongue, unless the heart of man is cleansed by the Holy Spirit, remains an unruly evil in one way or another. Even though man may possibly cease and refrain from sins such as profanity and kindred evils, the mouth speaks what is in the heart. “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).
Complete text of: Profanity—What is It?
“The Lord… is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). We are still in the day of grace when we can prepare to meet our God. He will deliver us from every sin, if we will let Him. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Jesus spoke of his own ministry when He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).
Today there is still pardon for our sins if we come to the Lord Jesus who made an atonement for us through his shed blood. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness, and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers” (Ephesians. 4:29).
YOU TELL ON YOURSELF
You tell on yourself
By the words you speak, by the friends you seek,
By the way you employ your leisure time,
By the use you make of your dollar and dime.
You tell what you are by the things you wear,
By the spirit you, your burdens bear,
By the kind of things at which you laugh,
By the songs you sing, just a paragraph.
You tell what you are by the way you walk,
By the things of which you delight to talk,
By the manner in which you bear defeat,
By so simple a thing as the way you eat,
By the books you choose from the well filled shelf,
In these things and more, you tell on yourself.
“Let not sin, [unrighteous thoughts, words or deeds] therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Romans 6:12). “Let your speech be alway with grace seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).