Topic #3
Does swearing make you less of a Christian?
I meet with a group of guys. We talk as men do and one of the discussions that has rolled over in my head is the issue of language and coarse joking. I'm not talking about taking the Lord's name in vain but other words not widely accepted in christian circles. There seems to be a belief among my generation, that swearing among christian friends is not as bad as swearing in public or in front of people who would react negatively to those words. I know the verses about there should not be any coarse joking among you but only what is acceptable for building others up. I also know that the world in general has a belief that for the most part Christians don't swear. This leads me to ask certain questions I don't know the answers to. Are certain words offensive to God's ears? Does it show immaturity when we laugh at or use what is considered to be foul language? I know where a lot of people stand on this. They are hardliners. There is to be no unwholesome talk coming from your mouths. The question was raised to me, "Just what is considered unwholesome"? Are there different levels? Are there hard and fast rules? And who says so? Where I come from the word frig was not considered dirty. But I moved to Ohio and was told that it was frowned upon. Now I can't list some of the words that I'm sure are under consideration as coarse for fear of offending certain readers but therein lies the quandary. I would not want to offend a general crowd but when a group of my peers is in agreement about what is and is not acceptable for themselves, what is to stop us from speaking freely and communicating in a way that feels natural?
Listen I'm certainly not an advocate for the F-word or any other questionable language but is it only questionable because we've made it so in society? You can freely drink alcohol in Europe and profess your faith. But here, in certain parts of the country and in certain denominations you cannot. There are strong men and women of God I know who appreciate and use colorful language. Does that make their faith weaker than someone who does not?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Yeah, good questions... the thing that makes Jesus so attractive and yet so frustrating at the same time is that He didn't give us hard and fast rules; He set a high standard about how we treat others but left us to work out the details on our own.
I don’t know what faith in God - or even one’s level of faith - has to do with certain words the dictionary. Words are fleeting, dead, and absolutely useless without meaning. I don't think it really matters what syllables happen to fall out of our mouths - unless those words are meant to offend someone or said in distain or contempt for another. That’s when it becomes a moral issue and something to be questioned. So it's OK to shoot the shit with the guys as long as you keep an eye open for those sensitive ears out there. Regretfully, we don’t always know which syllables those ears are sensitive to.
Hey I'm going to print this post and take it to my home group next week and let them take a shot at it. Should make for some lively discussion. We are discussing the topic of speaking wisely, this week it was about getting angry at bad drivers or rude bank tellers. Needless to say we had many examples of anger :)
Post a Comment