I grew up in a household where obscene language was not allowed. As you can imagine, though, occasionally when my parents would get mad they’d let it slip. But they always apologized to my sister and me for letting us hear such language.
I realize that not everyone has had this luxury. This luxury, which was once thought of as a burden, of having protective parents has been a great blessing. Protecting my innocent ears, my mind, and primarily my heart has turned me into the young woman I am today.
But there is a consequence to such safeguarding. I am now sensitive to profane language. Extremely sensitive.
In middle school, when cussing became the cool thing to do, I would get so mad when I would constantly hear words that were completely unnecessary. I understand when people get mad, that the natural thing to do is to curse. But to curse for no reason, just to add emphasis on your sentence, is needless.
I found myself becoming desensitized to profanity unless I was around my parents. In public and with my parents, I would hear an expletive and get annoyed, thinking ‘watch your language; my parents are here!’ because I thought that they were as sensitive as I once was.
Public schools, college, tv shows, the internet. All of it is screaming at us that using profane language is ok. Not only is it ok, it’s normal.
“It’s just a word that someone defined as sinful.”
But isn’t that the point? It has been defined as impure.
A few days ago I was watching one of my favorite movies, “Joyful Noise,” and Queen Latifah’s character says,
“That's right, I can cuss, too. Bullsh*t, bullsh*t, bullsh*t! It's lazy and it has no class, but it's not very hard.”
And that’s when I realized, not only is cussing crude and insensitive, but it’s also extremely lazy and shows a lack of vocabulary.
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29
There are countless verses in the Bible about devious talk, but this is one of my favorites. Not only does God call on us to keep our tongues from evil, he tells us to uplift one another with kind and gracious words.
I’m going to admit something to you. I struggle with this temptation of the tongue. But everyone struggles with something, and the first step is realizing it. The second step is being honest with God about our temptations and sins, and asking him to help us turn away from our sins.
The best part about running away from the world and into God's arms is that not only is He willing to help you turn from your temptation, but He wants to help you say no to sin.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Let Him help you.
