Matthew 12:36-37 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Luke 6:45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
If you have read my blogs or are friends with me on facebook, you will know well how I feel about these things. And for many of you, I have heard your opinions on speech, and how it changes over the years and has new meanings. One man I know, a member of a plain church, said to me once, when I asked him if he knew the meaning of a word he just used, s*ck: "yes, I know that word used to be dirty, but it's not any more. I looked it up in the dictionary. That dirty meaning was number 6 down the line."
But to an older person like me, someone who grew up when that word was THE dirty word to say, that meaning is still number one in their internal dictionary. And since the Bible tell us to avoid even the APPEARANCE of evil ( 1 Thessalonians 5:22), is it okay for a Christian to use these words?
Some of us of have positions authority in our circles. There are pastors, youth leaders, club leaders, homeschool leaders, and other places where there are conservative parents who are trying to raise their children to be pure. When our children hear these leaders use words like s*ck, cr*p, bull cr*p and p*ss, what example are you to them? We have told them not so speak this way. We have told them that the Lord wants our speech to be sound and that we are to avoid crude jesting:
Ephesians 5:3-5 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
So I plead with you as a parent. Please, think before you use these words around children who look up to you. The Lord will hold you accountable for the words you speak on judgement day. If you feel like it's okay to speak like this, please refrain anyway when you are around younger people. In their eyes, you will either fall, or the children will want to be "just like you" and start to use these words too, which could well lead them down the wrong path in later years. And there is another warning about that:
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
I was inspired by this post, and thank you for being very candid. I keep telling my kids not to say the words "shut up", in our home its a bad word. Well I was playing a Christian song that had the line " like a fire shut up in my bones..." well my kids freaked out that this was in a song...so then I had to explain to them that there are words that are not per say "bad" but that if used in a certain way they can become bad...I am just glad I am not the only one who tries to keep my children's speech "pure"
ReplyDeleteI love it!! We will pray for each other!
ReplyDeleteI was raised not being allowed to use formerly "bad" words that were now socially approved and I have continued that with my own children. We didn't even use the word "stupid" to describe anything because children often start using that word on each other. Yet, I try to give grace to others because often people really don't know the background of certain words or phrases. I have also said things that surprised other people simply because I did not know that phrase had a double meaning.
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