It’s kind of funny that cussing seems like such a simple, to the point concept, but it is not. In order to figure out the gray area of cussing, you first have to figure out what cussing really is. My whole life I believed cussing to only be the many words our society has deemed as bad language. If I am being honest I did not figure out how wrong that was until last year and now I want to help you realize it as well.
To really understand cussing you have to peel away at different layers that the word has. In society today there are specific words that everyone views as cuss words. When I was in my early years of college I began questioning what made those words so bad. The answer to that question is society. Society deemed what is bad to say and what is okay to say. If this is the full truth then is it okay to cuss?
Cussing, according to the Bible, is anything evil, wicked, perverted, filthy language coming out of your mouth about someone, or even in general. It also includes blasphemy, which is an act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things, like taking God’s name in vein and using “hell” in our language. You can read verses on this in Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 3:8, Titus 3:2. (Those are the verses I looked at for defining cussing). Those verses tell us what cussing is outside of what society has deemed it to be. They show us what God deems cussing to be, which is where we need to be looking. Using those verses we can have a pretty good idea of what cussing truly means. It’s any evil talk coming out of your mouth, blasphemy, filthy, perverted language, anything evil and vile that comes out of your mouth about someone or even being used in general by you. Using God’s name, hell, etc is against the Bible unless they are used in sentences correctly. Any other use of them takes away from the seriousness and importance and is sinful.
You may ask now that if that above is what cussing really is, then is it okay to use the words society has deemed as bad? Here is what I have found:
Let’s start with the point of how the word is being used. If the word is being used against someone else directly, like if you are calling someone a name or speaking mean to them using one of the words, then it is still cussing according to the Bible. Now you might ask what if the word is not being used against someone else directly or being used to harm others. Whether we like it or not society has already deemed these words as cuss words. Therefore, everyone views them this way. James 3:10 speaks of the confusion that can come to believers, including new and non believers, when they hear a believer cuss. I take this under the Bible’s definition and society’s definition of cussing because either way of cussing will negatively impact what others think of you and your testimony. We, as believers, are called to help hold others accountable and lead them towards God, not confuse them and lead them away. Typically when I get confused on something spiritually I run away from God for a while because I am scared to find answers that confuse me more. This can be what others are lead to do if they get confused hearing you speak as a believer good things about God, then turn around and use cuss words defined by the bible or society.
When I was a junior off at college I went through this same kind of scenario. I was in an organization with many believers who spoke great things of God, but also used cuss words(society’s) with the same mouth. I was highly confused. I began picking and choosing who I listened to spiritually and who I did not listen to because I did not believe anything they said to be true. So, whether or not you believe society’s cuss words to be wrong to use, they can hurt how other’s looking up to you spiritually view you and your testimony, and can ultimately lead them away from God.
We are called to be be peaceable and kind, and cussing is not either of those. I don’t know about you, but cussing in society’s terms just really bothers me when it is used by someone all the time. It almost makes me cringe at the sound of it. I know of other believers who feel the same way, which shows how cussing can lead other believers away from you no matter how you feel about society’s definition.
I will go ahead and tell you I am not perfect. This aspect of cussing is a big one because it has a huge definition that comes from the Bible that I am just truly learning about. I have spent years going back and forth on the subject and what is right and wrong. I have come to the conclusion that if the devil can use something coming from me for bad, then I should not even be giving him the opportunity. I have been trying to watch what I say to people, about people, and in general. This is important for any believer to work on because both good and evil things should not be coming out of the same mouth. (James 3:10).
Kokonaomi
