Cussing
What do you think about cussing?
I don’t cuss, otherwise known as cursing. OK, maybe I have let one slip now and then but it’s very rare. I never did, so that’s probably why I don’t now. I have to be pretty riled up to let one come out. And then when I hear myself say it, it sounds foreign and petty.
I have friends who cuss. I have Christian friends, who love Jesus and rarely miss church, that cuss. They don’t even have to be angry. There was even this one guy who was known as The Cursing Pastor. I saw in the news he died a few weeks ago.
The topic kind of fascinates me. For starters, who decides what words are “bad words”? Is there a committee or something, and they meet once every generation and print out a list?
Some words that used to be bad have lost their punch and don’t raise an eyebrow any more. I think specifically of the line from Gone with The Wind when Rhett Butler said to Scarlett O’Hara, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
In 1939, profanity wasn’t allowed in major motion pictures and that line became one of the most famous in movie history. It was determined that the word, in that context, wasn’t profanity but instead an expression of emphasis.
My how far we have come. Expressions of emphasis have no limits, it seems.
My mom told me that cussing was the sign of a weak vocabulary or poor mind trying to express itself. Dad, before he became a Christian and later a pastor, apparently had a weak vocabulary.
I always thought, and still do, that cussing in public and especially in front of children is rude. Just me and you? Let it rip, I honestly do not care. My daughter or wife are nearby? I’d appreciate you cleaning it up.
Especially the F bomb. I have been known to unfriend people on Facebook when they use that in their posts. If that makes me a prude, then I am a prude. It’s on my wall and my daughter or wife might see it.
I always look to the Bible when I think about where I stand on things, and there are plenty of things written there about our words. We’re encouraged to speak with words that uplift rather than hurt. We’re supposed to be kind and wholesome. We learn the tongue has the power of life and death, and that words reveal our heart.
I find it interesting that Colossians encourages us to let our conversations be full of grace, and seasoned with salt. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t mean we should have salty language.
I think when the Bible talks about cursing, it’s less about using specific words that change over time and with culture, but more about the state of our heart and the intention with which we speak.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your comments. Frankly, my dear, I give a darn.
:)
I remember hearing your Dad say often, “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Since many cuss when they’re angry it makes me wonder if those that do it often or regularly have a lot of anger or bitterness in their heart. As a Christian I don’t want to say anything that would falsely represent my Savior. Just my rambling thoughts this morning.
I remember as a junior high student, Jack Ryan, Kevin DeConstanzo, Kenny Settlemeyer, and I talked about our parents' cursing. I think my dad said maybe two colorful words. My mother was the one who could have filled up a "swear jar" in no time flat.
We talked about the hypocrisy that they could say whatever they liked -- but we would have been slapped silly for saying the same words.
So we formed a private "swear club." It was our rule to: 1) include a cuss word in at least one sentence in our conversations amongst ourselves, and 2) all cuss words were okay -- save for the "f-word" and saying God's name in vain.
The Catholic boy in our group insisted upon saving God's name for prayers; we were all fine with that.
The "Swear Club" ended when Kenny wrote in my autograph book at the end of the year, "To one h*** of a girl!" He spelled it out in the open! I told him he should cross it out and write, "heck" -- just in case my mom went through my stuff.
Went through my stuff, she did!
While cussing and cursing, she proceeded to reach octaves that would shatter glass, proclaiming I needed a better ilk of friends, because these friends were going to lead me on a pathway straight to... well... you know. She said it right out in the open.
She called poor Kenny's mother -- a timid woman -- and asked what kind of son was she raising, to lead a poor, little girl astray like he did. Needless to say, "The Swear Club" was abandoned. I became the AV Club mascot the next year, because Kenny and his pals wouldn't allow girls into the club as working members.