Last year, the Virginia Beach City Council approved donating about 30 “no cursing” signs previously posted on the beach to an auction. The signs were put up in the 1990s to encourage a family-friendly atmosphere, but they came to be seen as ineffective & inhospitable, so they took them down in 2019 after legislators voted to repeal the 1792 law that made cursing a public crime.
Americans have become fluently bilingual–they speak English & profanity. Over the past several years, words that were taboo have become trendy. Cursing has become mainstream & more acceptable even among many Christians. I notice numerous celebrities in the media who claim to be believers uttering profanities & vulgarities without hesitation or remorse. It’s one thing to stumble & let improper words slip, but it’s another thing when speak this way purposely (Col. 3:8, Eph. 4:29).
I dropped in on a church in our metro area on a Sunday last year where the preacher was talking about Ruth & Boaz. I was hoping he wasn’t going to use the wordplay I’d heard maybe a decade earlier from a celebrity pastor. But he did. It’s based on the idea that the “az” in “Boaz” sounds like a similar-sounding vulgar word. What may be worse is that the congregation roared in approving laughter.
Around the same time, a prominent secular magazine reported on a “Man Camp” hosted by one of the nation’s largest churches located in Ohio. The megachurch pastor took the stage & asked if anyone was “feeling open to Jesus in new ways.” He then pumped his fist & dropped the word that got little Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” a mouthful of soap. He shouted into the mic: “___Yeah!” & claimed it was his first time saying that word onstage “in a godly context.” Ok, maybe it was his first time, but it certainly wasn’t a godly context. Isn’t it more likely he just thought he could get away with it while fitting in as “one of the guys” with the kind of language that “real men” use?
But it’s not just men doing it. Swearing even among elementary-age kids is cringingly commonplace. Their worlds are filled with such language, so who can really blame them? Again, when Ralphie’s mom demands he tell where he learned that worst of all words, he didn’t want to implicate his father so he blamed a friend. A child may pick up such words at school, online, on TV, or in popular songs, but at least shouldn’t be hearing them at home.
We even should be cautious with euphemisms (like “BS” & “freakin’”) or using “Holy fill-in-the-blank” because whatever is holy belongs to God. Such phrases may not be as sanitized as you think. But I can’t give you a list of forbidden words because some may be merely crude or minced. To see what I mean, try an online search sometime for Christian comedian Tim Hawkins’ “alternative cuss words.”
Christians need to be especially careful about misusing God’s name carelessly. Jesus prayed that His Father’s name would be “hallowed” (Matt. 6:9). We’re not to take His name in vain which would include using it as an expletive or using it flippantly. Do not take His name lightly because it represents Him, & should be revered as holy instead of disrespected as common (Ps. 111:9). That’s why ancient Jewish people would even refuse to say the personal name of God out loud (“YHWH” in English–vowels weren’t used), so that to this day we don’t know how to pronounce it (though its thought to be “Yahweh”). Today’s respectful Jews may still spell God’s name without a vowel (G_d). Similarly, we would do well to avoid using OMG-type expressions. The world may blaspheme God’s name or the name of Jesus Christ now, but it’s at that name that every tongue will confess & every knee will bow to one day (Phil. 2:10-11).
Cursing isn’t the only way to speak in an ungodly way. Scripture tells us of the powerful & destructive power of our speech (James 3:1-12). “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless” (James 1:26). We’re to avoid slanderous words with the intent to actually curse & hurt people (Rom. 1:29-30, 1 Cor. 6:10, Matt. 5:22). People are now shocked & offended not by sexual words but by sexual slurs against perverse lifestyles. And even those are less scandalous than racial slurs. So while we don’t cave in to political correctness, we should never seek to purposely insult, hurt, mock, & offend people.
The book of Proverbs frequently counsels about using language wisely (13:3, 14:7, 17:5, 28, for example). We speak the truth but in love & with encouragement (Eph. 4:15, 29) so that our words are gracious–“seasoned with salt,” but not salty (Col. 4:6).