“I’m pissed off, and I am not going to take it
anymore.” Was that one strong enough? How about – “I’m mad as hell, and I am not
going to take it anymore.” Any
better? Maybe better to be more
simplistic, something on the order of just plain old – “damn it”. Have I communicated my frustration
effectively yet? Do you get it that I am
mad? And being a follower of our Creator
God, does my choice of language seem contradictory to you? Most Christians I know think that cussing, or
swear words, are evil and in fact a sin.
I say they are wrong, here’s why …
Ironically, my thinking on this topic has been heavily
influenced by two figures, George Carlin and Jesus Christ. Find that hard to believe? But they seem to agree on this topic. George points out that when you examine our
language, our speaking, and our communication in a deeper thoughtful manner –
you realize that all we have is words.
Some words are spoken to generate an emotional response, some are
considered slang or having multiple meanings, some are considered guttural in
nature and are used mostly for shock value.
It is the last category that tends to comprise what we now call swear
words, cursing, or like they say it down south – cussing.
But any modern curse word you can think of is really only a
word. No different than any other word,
except in its commonly held definition and purpose. A highly derogatory word for a woman’s
genitalia for example, is often used to describe a particularly objectionable
woman herself. Also used, is a technical
reference to the female of the canine species or perhaps references to general
sexual promiscuity. You see, I have just
called to mind three words in your head without actually spelling them out for
you. But everyone knows what I am
talking about. It is the application of
these three words that conjures up the “shock value” of the speech itself. And thus, three words with only slightly
relevant associations, become swear words in the English vernacular.
George Carlin nearly pioneered this thinking in his now
infamous bit entitled “Seven words you cannot say on television”. I love that one. What’s more I used to play his CD of it, in
my car on family vacations with my young teenagers in the car. Does that shock you? It shouldn’t.
George merely makes the point that our language is a product of our
thinking, and our association of words is largely dictated to us. We rarely think independently from the
masses, and therefore we deserve what we get, be it in politics, language or
society in general. My intention was not
to teach my children “how” to swear effectively – they would learn that really
well in school. My intention was to
teach them something much deeper – how we speak is an indication of how we
think, and what we value.
This is where Jesus continues the lesson. In His day, swearing had a bit different meaning
than ours. Swearing or vowing in His
day, was language used to commit oneself to a binding agreement or contract
between two people. If you swore to
provide 2 cows to your neighbor by the 25th of the month, on the
head of your first born daughter – then you better fulfill the contract, or
your daughter’s head would literally be cut off. It was no light matter. The words were strictly and literally
enforced. Christ pointed out the fallacy
of this thinking by advising we “simply let our yes be yes and our no mean
no”. He further pointed out that we
“control” nothing. “Leopards cannot
change their spots.” “We cannot add one
day to our lives by simply wanting it”.
In effect we can’t control anything, so it is pointless to swear before
God, or before each other as to the validity of our commitments.
But Christ had more to witness on the topic. James and John a couple of His first picks
for disciples were known throughout their home geography as “sons of
thunder”. The literal meaning of this
meant – they swore like sailors – conjure up an image of a Marine with Terets. And these 2 were the first representatives of
the meek, mild, savior. Peter went off
half-cocked all the time, and had no formal education; you can only imagine the
choice of words these “fishermen” were used to saying prior to really knowing
Jesus. Yet there is no written reprimand
of Christ to correct the language of any of His disciples in the entire New
Testament. And in my reading, I have not
found the use of curse words in what they said.
Christ too got angry more than once, when he saw how His
temple was being treated by the folks who were supposed to be ministering to
their fellow believers. The level of
apostasy that turns true religion into a purely financial industry made Christ
very angry. Enough for Him to take
physical action and “cleanse” the temple by overturning the tables setup for
money making, and scaring the money changers out of the place. But nowhere in scripture was there recorded a
tirade of curse words during the process.
Nor are the pictures of Christ using a horse whip accurate. For a brief moment, divinity simply flashed
through His humanity, and when the money changers looked at Him their own
sinfulness was revealed. This image was
too intense for them, and they fled on their own from the revelation. The witness to this truth, is the fact that
immediately after the “cleansing”, Christ ministered to the children and
believers who had come to the temple. If
you run screaming swear words, and cracking a horse whip, into a room of
children they will be the first ones out the door (and you should prepare for a
heavy lawsuit and criminal penalty).
More important to Christ than your ability to speak, or your
choice of words, was the thoughts behind them.
Using appropriate legal language to break the commitment to honor their
parents, was deemed wrong by Christ in His time. Christ saw that commitment as binding for
life. Every time local leaders tried to
trick Christ with no-win questions, he would confound them by revealing their
motives, and showing them what was really important. Using religion to justify murder was how our
Savior was killed on this earth.
Upright, believers, who professed a lifelong belief in the coming
Messiah, refused to accept the truth when they heard it, and using proper
language and horrific motives, crucified the very Messiah they should have
worshipped.
And we have still REFUSED to learn this lesson in
Christianity. Christian beliefs are SO
often associated with hate speech.
Christians carrying signs at protest to offer death to homosexuals. Christians who take it upon themselves to
reason they should kill abortion doctors in order spare the “innocent”. Christians who devoutly support a death
penalty in spite of evidence that many “innocents” have been wrongly executed,
and even those who are guilty are offered hope through a plan of salvation by
God. Christians, content to sit in
judgment of others, while full of sin in their own lives. Complete hypocrites. Complete abomination – liars, whoremongers,
adulterers and these are those who profess to serve our God. And you worry about cussing?
Shock jocks, use language to achieve the exact same result
as those who swear. But they do it for
money. Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern to
name a few. Ironically, I hear less
condemnation on Howard’s show than on Rush’s.
But then I hear no hope on Howard or Rush. I am angry because I want the hate speech to
stop where Christians are concerned.
Angrier still because I know the hate speech comes from a heart diseased
with the same condition. Words do
reflect our motives, and our attitudes.
When our minds are occupied by love, and by the transforming power of
our Creator God, we do NOT condemn our brothers. Instead we see our own need of Christ, and
simply love our brother unconditionally.
His need of Christ and reform of his life, is exactly like our own. We are all THE SAME. We all desperately need Christ. We all radically need a change in our
thinking and our motives, that will lead to a much better level of spoken
words.
Christ focused on the motives of what we say, not on the
particular words. He sought to correct
problems where they originate, not just superficial symptoms of much larger
problems that lay underneath. I can
politely, in the sweetest of words, declare my absolute apathy for your life
and your problems. More to the point, I
can lie and fake a superficial interest in you as a person, and have no real
underlying interest in you. In this, I
reveal the absolute lack of God in me, and overabundance of evil. Better I tell you how fricking much I love
you and mean it; than use extravagant words to convey no real emotion and leave
you alone. I wish Christian’s would get
pissed off, at hypocrisy in their own lives.
I wish they would get a passion for love back in their hearts. I wish they would hate seeing their religion
turned into a simple financial enterprise.
If enough of us did, we would not have to worry about cussing, we would
be too busy loving, and the whole world would change for the better …
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