Plain Talk About Vain Speech

The Kingdom Light – Episode 1125

-Begin Transcript –

On today’s program – some call it cussin’, some call it cursing, while others just say it’s using dirty words. Well, we’re gonna see what the Bible says about it – AND you might be surprised by what we learn during this Plain Talk About Vain Speech.

-Show Intro –

Do me a favor and SMASH that LIKE button! If you enjoy the show, please SHARE it to your social media. FOLLOW our Rumble Channel – Rumble.com/GCM, that’s Rumble.com/GCM. You can email us at kingdomlight@usa.com, that’s kingdomlight@usa.com. And for links, blogs, transcripts and more, check out our website – TheKingdomLight.com, that’s TheKingdomLight.com.

Before I start, let me once again emphasize that everything I’m about to say is MY opinion. Do not base your beliefs on me or my words. Seek God for your own answers. But I am going to examine several scriptures, and I will base my opinion on how I understand the Bible’s take on the topic of using terms which are considered profanity.

Okay, I’m sure we’ve all done it. You accidentally hurt yourself and something comes out of your mouth, right? Or maybe those kinds of words are part of your everyday vocabulary. I’ve heard people shamelessly curse like a sailor, and I’ve heard others who let a profanity slip out just in a kinda whoopsie moment. But is it really a big deal, or is it overly frowned upon?

I’ll go ahead and tell you right now that I believe many of us have focused on the wrong aspect of this. Now, don’t think I’m excusing cussing someone out – I’m not. I’ll explain what I mean in a moment. Listen carefully. Some people point to this passage in Matthew, chapter 12…

36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

But to what is this referring? What are careless words? We get a bit more insight by reading more than just a verse or two of scripture. So let’s look just a couple lines before this, where the Bible makes a statement that clears things up…

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

So what we’re really talking about here is the attitude of the heart. Keep that in mind because that’s gonna be at the core of this whole discussion. Again, don’t get ahead of me and assume I’m preparing to make excuses for using profanity. No. What I’m doing is trying to get you to realize what’s really the big issue and why it should be avoided. So stay with me here.

Let’s look at another passage found in Exodus, chapter 20, verse 7. You’ll recognize it as one of the Ten Commandments…

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Now we’re getting into addressing this as vain speech. What is vain speech and why should we avoid it? Pride and vanity are what? Conditions of the heart. So what does it mean to take the Lord’s name in vain? Here’s the best and perhaps worst example I can think of…

When someone uses “Jesus,” or “Jesus Christ,” as a swear word, what you’re actually doing is using His name and His title for no good reason. You’re not talking about Him, let alone talking to Him, so you are literally saying His name in vain. I’ve heard professing Christians do this, and it always bothers me because that’s my savior and He deserves more respect that having His name used as some empty exclamation.

What about using the term “GD?” This one I see more as an actual curse than taking His name in vain. Different category, but still bad. In saying this, you’re basically asking God to damn something – or curse it – whether it’s a situation, or even a person. I’m gonna go on record here as saying that’s probably not something we ought to do, but what makes it worse is – again – the attitude of your heart when you say it. Often, if you shout GD, you’re likely harboring some anger or malice, which is poison for your spirit. Plus the fact that it’s disrespectful. Plenty of reasons why we shouldn’t say it.

Another scripture people think of on this topic is James 3:10, which says…

^{From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.}

This passage is all about taming the tongue. Again, it’s referring to saying destructive things – words that tear down rather than build up. You need to understand right now that this has to do with far more than just some filthy terminology. You don’t have to cuss to curse, if you know what I mean.

So we see here once again that it’s not about the words themselves, but rather it’s about the intention behind the words. People say words have power – yes, but not because of the words, but because of the condition of the heart behind the tongue that’s speaking the words. If your heart is full of rage and violence, it will poison your spirit, and you end up cursing people when we are meant to bless people. This verse tells us the two things are incompatible.

One more passage and we’re gonna bring it all home. Look at 2 Timothy 2:16…

But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.

So let’s break this down. What is irreverent babble? Being reverent means showing due respect, and in the case of being reverent to God it’s also having a holy fear – which is recognizing His majesty. So then, irreverent babble is disrespectful speech that flippantly disregards the holiness of God.

If you examine a little further down in this chapter, you see that it gives the example of some people who had swerved from the truth and begun to lead others astray in the process. It states that everyone who declares the name of the Lord should refrain from causing iniquity and confusion with their words. So this is referring specifically to believers who irreverently go off on their own tangent, straying from the intended context of God’s Word.

This is why we need to avoid cherry-picking Bible verses and taking them out of context to support our own ideas. And I think I’ve stayed within the thought lines of these scriptures. I never wanna be the guy who says, “Well THIS is what I think, so let me find some biblical tidbits to support my personal way of thinking.” No, let the Bible speak for itself, and always seek insight from the Holy Spirit when searching the scriptures!

So what have we learned? First, it’s not about the words themselves. You might be surprised to learn that many words we consider profane aren’t thought to be that in certain cultures. Conversely, there are certain gestures thought to be very crude and disrespectful in other cultures which aren’t so to us. Holding out your hand for a handshake is actually an insult to some tribal people. Meanwhile, letting out a loud burp after a meal in Japan is considered a compliment on the meal. Does this mean it’s okay to swear? No, you’ve missed the point. If your local custom considers it taboo, avoid saying it.

This is because, second, it’s really about the attitude of your heart. In our culture, certain profanities especially are often used as expressions of anger or with ill intent. This vile attitude comes from the heart, gets spoken by the tongue, and poisons the spirit. Some things are better left unsaid. The Bible tells us that we can be angry and sin not. So we should try to tame our tongue and avoid speaking harsh words of any kind.

Why? That’s the third thing – WE WERE MEANT TO BLESS OTHERS, not to curse them. Not only can our words be poisonous to our own spirits, but they can have a huge impact on other people. The Bible says our mouths speak both blessings and cursings, and that shouldn’t be the case. The two things are incompatible, which means that one of those things will ultimately take over. Which one depends on the attitude of your heart and how close you really want to be with God. I would submit that people who speak curses or profanity as part of everyday life are nowhere near as close to God as they need to be. And we all need to grow closer to Him every day.

Finally, let’s keep in mind that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And also, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So if you hear someone speak words that offend you, pray for them. If that person is a believer in Christ, and yet uses irreverent speech, don’t let your first thought be condemnatory – but instead let it be compassionate. Lift that person up in prayer and let that be it. You don’t know but what God is already dealing with the situation. Each of us has our own struggles with sin. Let us regard one another then in brotherly love.

God bless, and have a wonderful weekend.

-End Transcript –

---